The European wind industry has proposed a New Offshore Wind Deal for Europe that calls on the governments to auction at least 10 GW of new offshore wind capacity per year, in total, from 2031 to 2040, while the industry has committed to reducing the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) by 30 per cent by the end of the next decade.
Published on 10 April during the WindEurope annual event in Copenhagen, the New Offshore Wind Deal for Europe is being proposed to accelerate and de-risk the buildout of “homegrown and competitive offshore wind energy” at a time when “Europe faces unprecedented challenges” .
“[Europe] must address the weaponisation of energy and strengthen its energy security. It must strengthen its industrial competitiveness and make electricity more affordable. And it must stay the course on decarbonisation”, WindEurope said in a press release announcing the proposal.
The industry is asking the governments across Europe to auction out at least 100 GW through Contracts for Difference (CfDs) over ten years with firm political commitment through fixed price and indexed contracts in an optimised and de-risked auction framework to create bankable projects.
Furthermore, the industry is urging for the 100 GW of new offshore wind capacity to have consistent commissioning, with planned deadlines for 10 GW annually, to create market predictability through cross-border planning while ensuring sufficient flexibility on commissioning dates to allow for optimal supply chain utilisation and investments.
According to the New Offshore Wind Deal for Europe, to competitively deliver offshore wind to meet Europe’s growing electricity demand, annual capacity installations must reach 15 GW by the 2030s, and the proposed steps in the new deal – along with additional capacity backed by power purchase agreements (PPAs) – will lay the foundation for achieving this.
On the industry’s side, offshore wind companies signing the proposal, including major developers and suppliers such as Ørsted, RWE, Vattenfall, Iberdrola, Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, have committed to lowering the LCOE of offshore wind by 30 per cent towards 2040 by bringing the resource to a better financing position and onto an accelerated cost reduction learning curve.
Wind energy companies have further vowed to ensure the industry scale to meet the de-risked, committed volumes by investing in projects, industry, manufacturing capacity and people, and have also pledged to deliver long-lasting value to both communities and the wider society.