WindEurope message to national Governments on electricity markets

These are important: you must support families and businesses with their energy bills. But at the same time you want more renewables: for energy security, climate protection and cheaper electricity bills in the long-run.

More renewables require huge investments. Investors need clear rules around their likely revenues. A new EU-wide revenue cap of €180/MWh for all forms of inframarginal generation gives them that.

But if Governments are free to deviate from that, clarity goes out of the window. Especially if you decide to set different caps for different types of electricity generation. Investors don’t know what the rules will be. The rules could change at any moment. This makes investing in your country too risky. And you won’t get the investments you want.

The message is simple:

• stick to the single EU-wide cap the Commission has proposed;
• apply the same cap to all forms of “inframarginal” electricity; and
• only apply the cap to actual revenues earned. Most wind farms in Europe earn fixed income far lower than day’s wholesale electricity prices: from Government contracts, PPAs or because they’ve hedged against lower and higher prices.

Ignore this and you turn away investments in renewables. You cement Europe’s dependency on fossil fuel imports. You worsen the energy crisis.