Wind Power Action Plan
Commission proposals point the way to achieving the expansion goals
Today's proposals from the EU Commission in the "Wind Power Action Plan" come at the right time and provide important impetus for the national debate about the future tender design for offshore wind power. “Every strategy starts with a good analysis. It is good that the EU Commission is taking stock and shedding light on the current challenges,” said BWO Managing Director Stefan Thimm.
The EU Commission is also right when it comes to the priorities it has chosen: “The achievement of goals is determined by the industrial policy measures. The Industry access to capital is a crucial prerequisite for building a strong value chain,” says Thimm. Here, the EU Commission is aiming for a two-pronged strategy through a combination of providing EU funding and making the state aid guidelines more flexible. The specific design of financing instruments and the corresponding applicants will play a crucial role in the success of these strategies. “The construction chain of the offshore wind industry should be taken into account when designing such instruments. Offshore wind farms, for example, can only be built and operated with the necessary installation ships,” explains Thimm.
In addition, the EU Commission is moving this forward auction design in the center. Among other things, the importance of qualitative criteria for the award decision should be strengthened. “This is going in the right direction. We are also interested in comprehensible, measurable criteria that support innovations in the offshore wind value chain,” says Thimm. “At the same time, the EU Commission is focusing on project implementation and is critically assessing the negative bid component, which we also criticized, and wants to prevent its use,” he adds.
“We are convinced that the Commission action plan will give new impetus to the German debate about quality criteria,” says Thimm.
Hintergrund: In the “European Wind Power Action Plan” published today, the EU Commission presents a package of measures to achieve the expansion goals of the EU and its member states in the wind energy sector. The communication was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech. The EU's expansion target is 500 GW by 2030.