European wind turbine manufacturing is indispensable for energy security and competitive electricity prices

We are very surprised by the latest statement of BASF CEO Martin Brudermüller on the quality of European wind turbines. Other wind farm developers in Europe are happy with the European turbines they have installed and would like to be able to continue sourcing European turbines.

EU policymakers have understood the critical importance of its European wind energy sector in strengthening energy security and ensuring competitive electricity prices. Europe is just starting to recover from its over-dependence on Russian gas. It must not run into a new dependency on a single importer of wind turbines now. In her State of the Union speech Commission President von der Leyen clarified: “The future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe.”

Wind energy manufacturing is a European success story. Europe is the second biggest manufacturing location for wind turbines worldwide. It is home to a large industrial ecosystem of wind turbine manufacturers and suppliers – with 250 factories across Europe. Almost all wind turbines installed in Europe today have been assembled in Europe. This is a testament to both the product quality and competitiveness of European wind turbine manufacturing.

The EU aims to be climate-neutral by 2050. As a key milestone, it now wants renewables to be 42.5% of all energy consumed in Europe by 2030. This means that Europe’s current wind energy capacity of just over 200 GW needs to more than double to 420 GW by then.

The European Commission just recently doubled down on this commitment with a Wind Energy Package, proposing a set of actions to strengthen its wind energy sector. The Package is a game-changer. It acknowledges the urgent need for investments in Europe’s wind energy supply chain to scale up the domestic production capacity for new wind turbines. And it proposes pre-qualification criteria for wind energy auctions to ensure cybersecurity, environmental protection, and the ability to deliver on project commitments. EU Member States must now rapidly implement the excellent actions proposed in the Wind Power Package and actively engage in the drafting of the announced Wind Energy Charter.