Low wind turbine orders call for step change in Europe’s energy security strategy

Inflationary cost pressures, slow permitting and uncertainty around the EU’s emergency electricity market interventions are stalling orders for new wind turbines. WindEurope tracked orders for new wind turbines with a total of 2 GW in Q3 2022.*

The orders came from 9 countries. They were all for onshore wind turbines. Finland ordered most new capacity with 322 MW, followed by the Sweden and Germany.

This brings total orders in 2022 to 7.7 GW – far off from what Europe needs to reach its energy and climate targets. The EU wants 510 GW of wind energy by 2030. This means the wind industry should install 39 GW of new wind each year up to 2030. At the current rate of turbine orders Europe would fall well short of this target.

The Q3 numbers are part of a downward trend in wind turbine orders. Disclosed wind turbine orders* in Q1 2021 were at 2.8 GW and have been generally decreasing since (s. for illustration the below graph).

Image: WindEurope

The rapid deployment of wind energy has never been more urgent – for energy security, for the climate, and for affordable energy prices. This requires a step change in EU policy: to accelerate permitting of new projects, give renewables investors visibility, and strengthen and expand of the European wind supply chain.

At their 21 October European Council meeting, Heads of State and Government formally asked the European Commission to fast-track the simplification of permitting. In a recently published joint letter WindEurope called upon the European Commission to table an emergency Regulation to that end using Article 122 of the EU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This would ensure renewables deployment is treated as a matter of overriding public interest and would shorten the maximum permitting duration to two years from the moment the first permit application is submitted.

Alongside improvements to permitting, investors and developers need clarity on future revenues before they can move ahead with new projects and order new turbines. National Governments must clarify their approach to revenue caps on inframarginal producers of electricity (such as wind) as soon as possible in line with the industry’s 6 recommendations.

Slow permitting and insufficient market size continue to harm the European wind energy supply chain. And costs for raw materials, components and international shipping have risen sharply, increasing the pressure on the European wind industry. The industry needs political support.

The European Union must ensure that the Recovery and Resilience funding is channelled to strengthen and expand the wind energy supply chain. The European Investment Bank can play a key role in supporting the supply chain too. So can tax credits similar to those the US now use under their Inflation Reduction Act.

WindEurope’s Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring Q3 2022 contains additional details on new orders by wind turbine manufacturers, turbine models, average power ratings and turbine specifications. You can find it alongside historic Orders Monitoring reports and many other technology insights in the Members’ Area of our website. There you can also access interactive tools that allow you to check historic turbine orders data and OEM shares per country.

*Note: Publicly listed companies disclose their orders. WindEurope tracked 15 firm orders* for publicly listed OEMs. WindEurope then estimated the orders for non-listed OEMs.