Europe’s wind energy sector is in “a great position to offer hope” in the current turbulent international climate, according to Teresa Ribera, Spain’s Minister for Ecological Transition.
Speaking at the keynote session of WindEurope’s annual conference in Bilbao, Ribera said that wind energy will be “the positive part of the response” to the war in Ukraine and the resulting need to boost energy security and speed up the energy transition.
Ribera said that the renewable energy industry has come a long way and that “there is still a long way to go … it will be very difficult … but we are in a position to do a lot”.
She stressed the need for the right framework to attract investments and also highlighted the challenges of permitting and high commodity prices.
“The supply chain is under stress and permitting needs to be accelerated. However we need to realise the opportunities before us as we grow renewable capacity,” Ribera said.
Spain will need to mobilise over €30bn of investment in wind energy by 2030, Ribera added, and has a clear plan to grow its offshore wind energy sector.
Key factors for success will be research, development and innovation, as well as collaboration across countries, regions and industrial sectors, Ribera noted.
Speaking at the keynote session, European Commission Director General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen, said that the European Commission had a clear plan to solve the challenges for scaling up renewables through the recently-announced Repower Europe plan.
“Our ambitions need investment and an intelligent policy framework,” said Jorgensen. “We will set out a clear vision for the energy system of the future {and] wind energy will play a vital part.”
The European Commission will formally present the Repower Europe plan in May, together with a strategy to improve the permitting environment for renewables, Jorgensen added.