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European manufacturers are in a race against time to build enough wind farms to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets by 2030. Euronews correspondent Andrea Boriso talks about the European manufacturers leading the way in Business His Planet.
The European Commission says that to reach the EU’s target of 42.5% renewable energy by 2030, the EU needs to expand its wind power capacity and build an additional 31 GW (gigawatt) of wind farms each year. It has said.
Achieving this ambitious goal will require a significant increase in wind power generation. A record number of wind farms were built across the continent in 2022, an increase of 47% compared to 2021 figures. But the EU warned that Europe remained far short of its annual target.
ZF wind poweris a world leader in the production of gearboxes required for the production of wind turbines, located in northern Belgium. As turbines are getting larger, so is the equipment needed to test gearboxes and turbines.
Felix Hensseler, CEO of ZF Wind Energy, explained to Euronews that it would not be possible to double production by next year, but some plants are underutilized. , added that there is room for rapid growth once orders come in.
“There is already production capacity in the market that we can take advantage of and expand. It is ambitious but generally not impossible to achieve, but we need to start now,” Henseler said. he said.
ZF wind power creates Power train for Vestasone of the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturers.
Morten Dirholm, group senior vice president of Denmark’s Vestas, stressed the importance of simplifying European bureaucratic processes if Brussels is to meet its wind energy goals.
“In Europe, for example, it can take seven to 10 years. [the time when] “Policymakers are deciding to move forward with wind projects until they actually start producing electricity onto the grid,” Dirholm said.
What is the EU’s action plan?
Shifting focus to renewable energy sources is part of a global effort to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Offshore wind power is expected to make a significant contribution to Europe’s energy goals.
Brussels launched a wind power package last year, and in December energy ministers from the 26 member states announced the changes needed in their respective countries to increase the number of wind farms and strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s wind value chain. promised to implement it. european wind charter. Hungary did not sign the agreement.
The wind power package has the following objectives:
- Accelerate building the wind industry
- Streamlining authorization rules
- Improving auctions by indexing prices
- reduce problems caused by rising inflation
- Investing in ports and power grids
How much wind power does Europe produce?
1 gigawatt of energy is equivalent to 1,000 megawatts or 1 billion watts. Most people associate watt measurements with light bulbs, but essentially 1 gigawatt of energy is enough to power about 750,000 homes or a medium-sized city.
Wind power currently accounts for 19% of Europe’s electricity consumption, enough to meet Portugal’s electricity needs.
Europe wants to increase its wind power capacity from the current 180 GW to 451 GW by 2030, and increasing the scale of production will be key.
Streamlining the bureaucracy
The signatories of the European Wind Charter have also pledged to join Wind Power Charter CEO Giles Dixon. wind europe In Brussels, this is positive news. “Importantly, it is becoming easier to get permits for new wind farms, but it used to be very difficult, very legal and bureaucratic.
“The European Union is currently introducing new rules to simplify permits. Germany and Spain granted 70 percent more permits for onshore wind power last year than the year before.”
But Dixon warned that Chinese manufacturers are also developing lower-cost wind turbines with generous financing terms, adding: “They’re saying, ‘You don’t have to pay for three years…’ Such a proposal is not acceptable!” he warned.
Europe relies heavily on China for rare earth elements essential to manufacturing wind turbines. 98% of the rare earth elements such as niobium, lithium and cobalt that Europe imports come from China.
“The EU wants to reduce its dependence on China and diversify its supplies… We will work with the EU to make that happen, sourcing these materials from other countries and We are even expanding our supply chain,” Dixon said. concluded.
For more on Andrea’s report, click on the video in the media player above.
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