European wind energy: investment and policymaking in energy security

In Belgian Offshore Days and WindEurope Bilbao, the main topic was clear: more investment and policies to reach energy security and fight the rising production costs.

In the past few weeks, the future of European wind energy was discussed in two industry events: Belgian Offshore Days and WindEurope Bilbao 2022. The main concern of the industry, at the moment, is to guarantee energy security in Europe. For that, there needs to be a lot more investment and facilitating policies. Endiprev exhibited at both events and met with several customers and key industry players. These were our main insights.

Belgian Offshore Days 2022: More investment will help to achieve climate neutrality by 2050

“To become a climate-neutral continent by 2050 we will need more than electrons, we will need molecules as well”. That was one of the phrases that marked the Belgian Offshore Days 2022 event. Europe, in particular Belgium, has several offshore wind projects in the pipeline. Some will be installed in a few years, and that represents an even greater challenge for the industry in Europe. One of those projects is the North Sea Energy Island link, which will connect the Belgian and the Danish grids.

• Investment

That is the only way to guarantee that the EU can still reach the goals of climate neutrality until 2050. With the geopolitical pressure and the energetic dependence on Russia, these goals are not only necessary but urgent to accomplish. For that, Governments and companies must invest even more.

• Security

Due to the armed conflict in Ukraine, cyber and asset security was also one of the topics highlighted and thoroughly discussed during the event. There is the commitment of every industry key player to defend the strategic assets.

• Health and Safety

As usual, Health and Safety were also of the most important topics on the agenda.  Although the goals are ambitious and public opinion and governments are aligned in their importance, it’s crucial to guarantee the health and safety of everyone working on wind farms. The industry would not survive errors that could jeopardize the lives of wind energy workers. Therefore, health and safety need to continue to be a primordial focus.

WindEurope Bilbao 2022: Policymakers need to step up to reach energy security

The state of the wind industry and the energy security brought by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine dominated the discussions at WindEurope Bilbao 2022. From day one, Europe’s desire to move away from Russian gas to renewable power was the main topic. Although this might accelerate the wind industry growth in Europe, and therefore secure the accomplishment of the 2050 climate neutrality targets, it also puts pressure on a supply chain struggling with rising production costs.

The wind turbine manufacturers raised the concern, during the event, that the rising prices could lead to an unsustainable situation. To prevent that from happening, governments and policymakers need to invest and accelerate permitting approval.

WindEurope Bilbao 2022 ended with two great news. Germany approved the “Easter package”. This package intends to deploy more than 10GW of new wind energy projects per year, tripling the renewable energy electricity consumption by 2030. It includes new targets for onshore and offshore wind. The UK also revealed a new Energy Strategy, with a 10GW increase to 50GW in its 2030 target for offshore wind.

Endiprev has been paying close attention to the advantages and disadvantages that the global situation may bring to the European wind energy industry. It’s certain that that can accelerate the growth of the industry. However, the production costs and the permitting approvement are not allowing it to meet its goals.

Meanwhile, Endiprev has already assured our customers that, as usual, we are preparing our teams to address the challenges ahead. With commitment and rigor, our 12 years of experience and more than 300 engineers and technicians continue to make Endiprev a trusted partner. Quality, Health, and Safety are our top priorities in everything we do, from the smallest tasks to our biggest projects. We will ensure that in every project.