"The expansion of wind energy in Europe is not making any progress. Nevertheless, Brussels is primarily focused on protecting the domestic industry from competition from China.
The share of renewable energy in the EU is expected to increase to 42.5 percent of consumption by 2030. Wind energy should make an important contribution to this. Capacity is expected to more than double from today's 204 gigawatts to 500 gigawatts. The starting position for wind turbine manufacturers could hardly be better.
More plants were built last year than ever before. However, the 16 gigawatts installed were far from the required 37 gigawatts per year. So there is a lot of room for improvement.
The European manufacturers are still dissatisfied. The industry association “Wind Europe” even speaks of a “massive crisis”.
The reason is the high raw material prices and inflation.
Because of the long project durations, manufacturers have to deliver products that were ordered years ago at a fixed price at high costs for energy, steel and interest.
They also see themselves at a disadvantage in competition with China. While the state supports manufacturers there with large amounts of money, the Europeans have been making losses for years and are therefore having difficulty investing in the expansion of the capacities needed for the expansion of wind turbines.
Protection from Chinese competition
European manufacturers have therefore been pushing for months to impose punitive tariffs on competition from China. The basis could be an anti-subsidy procedure, like the one the European Commission has just initiated against electric cars from China. That doesn't rule it out though. Commission representatives leave no doubt that China pays “scandalous subsidies”.
However, there is so far no sufficient evidence that this is causing damage to the European economy, which would be a prerequisite for tariffs.
In fact, European companies still have a market share of 85 percent in the EU and 35 percent in the global market.
Chinese competitors are also finding it difficult to enter the EU market because, unlike solar modules, the products are not so easily interchangeable. The Chinese market leader Goldwind, for example, is trying to gain a foothold in this country, but has so far had little success.
The Commission still wants to protect European manufacturers and justifies this with the strategically important role of the industry. In its "wind power package" presented on Tuesday, it calls on the member states to improve the position of domestic manufacturers by not only taking into account the price in tenders, but also criteria such as environmental and social standards in production. However, it is up to the states whether they adhere to this. The package contains only recommendations.
Finally speed up the process
The move has met with criticism. "Under the pretext of wanting to combat cheap systems from China, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is trying to introduce hidden subsidies for the wind industry at the expense of taxpayers by introducing additional tender criteria," says Bundestag member Michael Kruse (FDP). Instead of entering into a subsidy race with China, the Commission must ensure more attractive production conditions. After all, there is not only a reluctance to invest in wind energy.
In order to accelerate the expansion of wind power, the Commission is focusing on speeding up the approval process. Deadlines of seven years for wind turbines on land and ten years for systems on the high seas must come to an end, it says. The delays in many projects are one reason why projects are being abandoned and there are not enough projects in the pipeline. In particular, the expansion of wind power on the high seas must be accelerated, emphasizes Brussels. In the future, the approval periods there should last a maximum of three and a half years.
The requirements for faster approvals are not new. They are part of various new EU laws, such as the law to promote strategically important industries ("Net Zero Industry Act"), which the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers are currently discussing. In order to provide the industry with planning security, the member states should also make concrete commitments by the end of the year as to how much they want to expand their national wind power capacities by 2026.
Finally, the Commission wants to double the resources earmarked for financing “green” technologies in the Innovation Fund to 1.4 billion euros. However, only part of this will flow to the wind power industry.” [1]
It is simple, Watson. China does not sanction Russia. So China has an easy access to inexpensive Russian energy. European Union sanctions Russia with gusto. No inexpensive Russian energy for European Union. You need tons of energy to produce those steel structures for windmills. European Union can lock out rest of the world with custom duties. European Union could not take over the world with expensive shit produced using expensive energy. So Brussels, just go to the bushes and be dead there soon quietly.
1. Brüssel will die Windbranche vor China schützen
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online)Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Oct 24, 2023. Von Hendrik Kafsack und Susanne Preuß
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