What is the situation in the field of renewable energy in Europe in light of the energy tensions with Russia?

Now everyone can see what a serious situation can be created when a state, or a group of them such as Europe for example, depends closely on other nations for such an absolute good as energy.

The war between Russia and Ukraine suddenly opened the eyes of those who slept peacefully and comfortably on gas and oil contracts with Russia, immediately realizing that if your supplier strategy no longer wants to supply you or increases the price of energy with a subtle game of supply and demand, you find yourself like a naked king.

Europe, champion of green and renewable energy, has wasted a lot of time in the green energy sector, thinking it could take many more years in the energy transition.

Now it has become an obstacle course, caught between the needs of having at all costs, it is appropriate to say it, gas and oil and the need to push for an increase in the production of renewable energy.

In this article we report with interest the interview that Kyra Taylor made Sven Utermöhlen, president of WindEurope and CEO of offshore wind at RWE, who helps us to understand the European situation of renewables.

The European Commission aims at at least 60 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind production by 2030. What are RWE's plans to increase offshore capacity in Europe? How many investments are you making and when do you expect these investments to start generating electricity?

By 2030 we will invest 50 billion euros gross in our core business, or 50 billion euros for climate protection. Offshore wind is one of our focal points in our growth strategy: by 2030, we intend to triple our pro-quota offshore wind capacity from 2.4 GW to 8 GW worldwide.

We will soon announce the completion of our Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in the UK, and we have recently started offshore construction work for Kaskasi off the German coast.

These offshore wind farms will have a total installed capacity of 1,200 MW and we are also moving forward with the 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm in the UK.

We are also leading a 10 GW offshore wind development project with guaranteed offshore rights, for example, the 1,000 MW Thor project in Denmark or the FEW Baltic II in Poland.

Our offshore development activities are concentrated in North America, the Asia Pacific region and particularly interesting markets in Europe.

The European Union and member states are increasing their national targets, providing further growth opportunities. Countries such as Germany, the UK and the Netherlands have increased their offshore projects and will also increase auction volumes.

All of this will provide further growth opportunities and this means that we will further expand our renewable energy network and, in particular, our offshore wind business.

In total, the EU aims to ensure that 40% of its energy mix is provided by renewable sources by 2030: the European Parliament even wants to aim even higher, at 45%. What policy support is needed from the EU and national governments to achieve these goals?

What is vital is that mechanisms are put in place that continue to stimulate investment. Especially in the current situation with the war in Ukraine, there are stresses and strains on the supply chain and commodity prices.

In general it is essential that auctions take place quickly in the first place because delivery times are relatively long in offshore wind.

With lead times in offshore wind typically between five and 10 years, those additional volumes are to be auctioned in the next two or three at the latest. years, otherwise none of these additional projects will be operational by 2030.

Then there is another very important aspect: projects and auction schemes should not be based only on financial or price criteria, but should also consider qualitative criteria, such as sustainability, the capacity of the participants, their ability to carry out these projects and their contribution to the European economy.

This is essential to ensure that projects are realized. The only thing we see in a critical light would be the negative price components, especially if not covered, in fact this will lead to price increases by consumers.

Let's take a closer look at the latest developments in Germany. The German government's so-called "Easter Package" is another step towards a faster energy transition.

Significantly higher expansion goals for onshore and offshore wind as well as photovoltaics, faster grid expansion and a new top priority for renewable energies.

But there must be improvements when it comes to the conditions of offshore expansion, in particular, the planned negative supply component would simply increase the cost of green energy for the industrial consumers, the opposite of what we need.

Furthermore, the path of the "Contract for Difference" for pre-surveyed areas without inflation indexing and restrictive supply ceilings collide with the trend of currently unpredictable costs in the commodity industry.

Furthermore, according to the current state, green electricity from pre-surveyed areas for offshore wind farms cannot be marketed to industry because it remains trapped under the "Contract for Difference" system. Large quantities of green electricity would therefore not be available to industry at all.

The decarbonisation of the sector is one of the biggest challenges on our way to achieving the European climate goals and achieving the energy transition. Offshore wind power is expected to play a central role in this.

During this conference, we heard a lot of concerns about the supply chain. What are you asking the European Union and national governments to solve this problem?

The wind industry is determined to deliver results, even in difficult times. But we need the right government policies more than ever.

Prices are significantly higher at the moment - in particular the prices of raw materials and the price of some components, such as cast iron parts - and forecasts on prices have become significantly more uncertain.

Right now, it is very difficult for supply chain companies to predict where prices will go, which means that if they are asked to bid for the delivery in four or five years, it is very difficult to predict the costs.

So governments need to look at how this uncertainty, on the cost side, can be reflected in auction systems and potentially on the revenue side, because even simply putting the risk on the companies that install and manage the plants will not work.

We need to think about mechanisms that allow us to make investment decisions, even if these cost uncertainties are now much higher and we absolutely must consider this as a medium-term argument: it doesn't have to be a short-term problem.

As for the supply chain, this need to expand. It had to do it much earlier, even without the war in Ukraine, and it probably needs to grow further now due to the disruptions caused by the war. What the supply chain needs are investments and incentives to expand the industrial base in Europe.

Aside from these concerns, what are the biggest challenges your industry faces right now and what solutions are you looking for?

Ensuring security of supply and diversifying energy supply are top priorities, particularly through the expansion of renewable energies. To accelerate wind power generation, key decisions need to be made now.

For onshore wind, authorization issues are very difficult in most countries. These timelines need to be significantly shortened and implementation paths also need to be simplified: the new German government has just published proposals to simplify authorizations for onshore wind.

Many of their proposals look promising, but similar measures need to be taken across Europe to simplify licensing processes for onshore wind. Of course, this also has to do with the increased acceptance of the local population. As an industry, we need to work side by side with the local communities and municipalities in which we operate.

For offshore wind, acceptance by people living on the coast is not the problem. But we have challenges to solve with regards to permits, so we need to intensify the dialogue with stakeholders for the offshore areas themselves, this includes the issue of nature protection and coexistence between offshore wind and other offshore users, such as fishing or sailing.

We must also clarify and simplify some rules and procedures to ensure shorter times for environmental impact assessments and consultation with the various stakeholders.

We also need better communication on the positive effects of offshore wind on the environment, for example, some studies show that where offshore wind farms are in operation , after a few years the population of some marine species increases.

What was the impact of the war in Ukraine on the introduction of renewables? There is concern about how it might impact the sector, but there is also a greater push for renewables. What is your opinion?

There is an even stronger demand for a faster and wider start of renewables, because the issue of security of energy supply and independence has assumed a significant priority.

And it is true, in fact, that renewable energy and wind can play a very important role in ensuring energy security.

The problem is that, at least in the short and medium term, the war has led to disruptions in the supply chain and higher commodity prices. However, the wind industry is determined to deliver, and we at RWE are continuing to expand our core green business at full speed.

How important is wind energy as an energy source in Europe, given the war in Ukraine?

It is vital. Renewable energies, in general, are very important for energy security and wind energy is one of the two big pillars besides solar. When looking at the potential of renewable energies across Europe, wind power probably plays the most important role.

Obviously, this varies from country to country, in fact some states have a very favorable solar resource, then there are other countries in the north and north-west of Europe , for example, where wind energy plays an even more important role.

Thus the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in Europe are the best places to build offshore wind power compared to other areas of the world. The combination of relatively shallow water and exceptional wind speed is unique. This is something that we absolutely must use as Europe because it is a unique opportunity.

The European Commission has outlined its plan to reduce Europe's dependence on Russia, called REPowerEU. What is your point of view? Do you think it is good? Do you think you need more? And what can your contribution as RWE be?

We strongly welcome the initiative of the European Commission and believe it is the right direction to go. What we can do as RWE is carry out the Growing Green strategy we released last year, with our € 50 billion investment through the end of this decade.

The vast majority of this will go into renewable energy, particularly wind power, both offshore and offshore. Another important milestone for us is the start of the hydrogen projects as soon as possible.

Carrying out this strategy is our goal. Of course, with the increase in wind energy and renewable energy projects in the EU, we will certainly look to participate in these additional growth opportunities.

You mention RWE's plan to invest in renewable energy. What will the next ten years be like in terms of investments? What renewable energy technology are you focusing on?

The focus on renewable energy is mainly divided into offshore and onshore wind. There is also a significant element about solar photovoltaics. Together, they represent 90% of total investments in the green strategy. The rest is about flexible power generation, hydrogen and storage.

And what is the relationship between fossil and renewable fuel projects in RWE's portfolio in 2030?

At RWE, we are driving the energy transition faster than most other companies, aiming for net zero by 2040. We have a clear path to neutrality climate: we are gradually phasing out nuclear and coal and continue to invest in green growth, which will switch to green hydrogen as soon as possible.

With our extensive investment and growth strategy, we will expand our green generation capacity to 50 GW internationally by 2030. Our growth is sustainable: over 90% of our investments up to 2030 will go into sustainable projects according to the EU taxonomy.

Finally, you have just been elected president of WindEurope. What are your main goals for this?

I am honored to have been elected to represent the entire value chain of wind energy in Europe, an industry that helps build a low-carbon future carbon.

I want to help the wind industry overcome these difficult times, which are characterized by the enigma of growth prospects, perhaps the greatest ever and probably the most bigger than we ever thought.

At the same time, there are parts of this sector and parts of the supply chain whose situation, given the war in Ukraine, has become even more complicated.

WindEurope, as an association, needs to help the sector overcome this situation by establishing the right dialogue with policy makers, stakeholders and society, providing the right arguments, the right information, the right education in our industry, in order to achieve the goals we share with the EU and national governments across Europe.

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.