Plight of wind turbine designers and manufacturers

Subject: Plight of wind turbine designers and manufacturers

Designers and manufacturers of wind turbines are in a perilous state of affairs following a spate of dismissals in the sector’s principal western companies (Vestas, Siemens-Gamesa, Nordex and General Electric). Manufacturers are facing the short end of the stick as they attempt to maintain a profit margin which allows them to continue trading with their clients. While clients and distributors continue to enjoy healthy profit margins, manufacturers and designers hold a weak hand.

The wind market is considered vital for Europe’s future, and yet western manufacturers and designers are struggling to stay afloat. Manufacturers lack all ability to negotiate with clients, and existing rules leave them incapable of developing a stronger negotiating position.

1. What alternatives is the Commission considering to ensure the viability of the wind industry, both on land and at sea, and of related technologies, given the sector’s vital importance to the EU’s energy sovereignty?

2. How will the Commission make up for the delay in setting up wind infrastructure which is supposed to be up and running by 2030?

Submitted: 15.2.2023

Answer given by Mr Breton on behalf of the European Commission

(19 April 2023)

The Commission is aware of the difficulties the EU wind energy manufacturing sector is experiencing and is closely interacting with their umbrella association, WindEurope (1), and some of the companies mentioned by the Honourable Member.

The REPowerEU Plan (2) and the proposed revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (3) include measures to accelerate the deployment of renewables, such as a Commission recommendation and guidance on speeding up permit-granting procedures and facilitating Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) (4) and a Pact for Skills (5).

The proposed measures to simplify and accelerate permit-granting should lead to more wind projects being deployed, thus boosting the industrial development of the sector. Furthermore, the electricity market design proposal (6) includes measures to provide long- term certainty for investors.

Following the Green Deal Industrial Plan (7) announced on 1 February 2023, the Commission has proposed a Net-Zero Industry Act (8) to identify goals for net-zero industrial capacity and provide a regulatory framework focusing on investment along the entire supply chain, and on simplifying and fast-tracking permitting for new clean-technology production sites.

Wind energy has been identified among the priority technologies of the Act and the wind turbine design and manufacturing sector is expected to be among the main beneficiaries of the proposed measures.

In particular, sustainability and resilience contribution shall be assessed in renewable energy auctions and given a minimum weight.

1 ∙ ⸱ https://windeurope.org/

2 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A230%3AFIN

3 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0557

4 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=PI_COM%3AC%282022%293219

5 ∙ ⸱ https://pact-for-skills.ec.europa.eu/index_en

6 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2023%3A0148%3AFIN

7 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2023:62:FIN

8 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52023PC0161