The European Commission (EC) has announced a new European Wind Power Action Plan to enable the clean energy transition to align with industrial competitiveness. Reaching the European target of more than 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, to achieve 45% renewables requires a significant increase in wind installed capacity, with a forecast increase to over 500 GW in 2030.

While the wind industry has experienced historical success in the EU, its future development plan faces a set of new challenges. This includes insufficient and unreliable demand, slow and complex permitting, reduced access to raw materials, rising inflation and commodity prices and increased pressure from other competitor nations impacting the availability of skilled talent.

The Action Plan will support the delivery of a reliable and competitive wind energy supply chain, with a clear and secure pipeline of new projects, attracting the necessary financing and competing on a fair playing field worldwide. The plan is supported by communication on delivering the EU’s offshore energy plan, including wind generation, following the EU Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy implemented several years ago. The Action Plan includes a series of immediate actions to be taken by the Commission, the Member States and the industry, delivering on current policies and legislation and incorporating six main areas:
Accelerating the deployment with increased predictability and faster permitting

The Commission is introducing the Accele-RES initiative with nations to ensure quicker implementation of the revised EU renewable energy plans, focusing on the digitalisation of permitting processes and technical assistance to other regions. Furthermore, countries have been encouraged to enhance the visibility of the project pipeline via wind commitments, transport auctions and long-term plans. Finally, the commission will support the required development of electricity grids with a Grid Action Plan later this year.

Building on the proposed Net-Zero Industry Act and the reform of the Electricity Market Design, the Commission will support other regions in strengthening auctions with structured criteria which reward high-value-added equipment and ensure projects are understood and on time. Aside from the EU, Global Gateway projects will enhance their use of strategic procurement measures. The Action Plan also includes a cybersecurity risk assessment. To accelerate investment and financing for wind energy manufacturing in Europe, the Commission will support access to EU financing, via the Innovation Fund, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) will make de-risking guarantees available.

The Commission also encourages other countries to utilise the flexibility provided by the amended Temporary State Aid Crisis and Transition Framework to support wind manufacturing in Europe. To allow the wind industry to operate on a fair playing field, the Commission will closely monitor unfair trade measures benefitting foreign wind manufacturers and continue using trade agreements to enable access to foreign markets while supporting the adoption of regional and international standards for the industry.

The Commission will also work with investors to determine any potential obstacles to investment. With the Net-Zero Industry Act, the Commission will also support the introduction of the European net-zero industry skills academies, including one specifically for the wind industry, supporting national action plans to upskill and reskill professionals.

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