The European Green Deal has set the course for Europe’s transition to climate neutrality. At the same time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taught us the importance of energy security. EU energy policy must deliver clean, secure and affordable energy to European citizens and businesses.
Replacing fossil fuels and shifting to a sustainable, circular and just economy, as set out in the EU Green Deal, is essential for delivering Europe’s strategic objectives. Energy intensive industry is at the heart of this transition.
Europe has a strong and innovative industrial base, providing high quality jobs to millions of Europeans, making reliable and sustainable products while respecting human and social rights. Ensuring this industrial base is fit for a climate-neutral future driven by electrification, efficiency and circularity, will make it the bedrock of a thriving European economy.
Accelerated wind deployment will be central to delivering that ambition. Wind is already 20% of electricity consumption in Europe and is therefore a strategic resource for Europe’s industry.
Chemicals, steel, aluminium, copper and cement are all a vital part of the European wind supply chain. Europe needs strong energy and electricity intensive industries in order to deliver the massive expansion of renewables. We must aim for materials and equipment for energy and other infrastructure to be made in Europe. That requires globally competitive clean energy and access to raw materials.
Current policies are not yet offering enabling frameworks to help Europe to deliver on these needs. Energy intensive industries have experienced unprecedented curtailment of production in recent years due to the impact of the energy crisis. Addressing this challenge must be at the core of a new Industrial Deal for Europe. Faster renewables deployment will help reducing energy bills for consumers. According to the IEA, “without PV and wind capacity growth in 2021-2023, average wholesale electricity prices would have been 3% higher in 2021, 8% in 2022 and 15% in 2023”.
Coupling the EU Green Deal with an Industrial Deal will empower industry to make the necessary investments to decarbonise while boosting competitiveness. It is the best strategy to provide regulatory coherence and stability to Europe’s businesses and citizens. And secure Europe’s prosperity.
“Europe’s wind industry is an integral part of Europe’s industrial base. And it’s key to delivering clean, competitive and reliable energy to all of Europe’s other industries. The latter are fundamental to the wind energy supply chain and to Europe’s wider prosperity. They must be strengthened. We must implement the EU Green Deal by complementing it with an Industrial Deal that helps Europe’s industries decarbonise through electrification. And the EU needs to keep supporting the wind industry through continued implementation of the Wind Power Package. WindEurope are delighted to sign the Antwerp Declaration and look forward to working with Cefic, EUROFER, Eurometaux, CEMBUREAU and its other signatories to make it happen.” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson.
“We will only make a business case for Europe and be able to implement the Green Deal if Europe creates strong and innovative partnerships, across multiple value chains. Cooperation is the strength of Europe. Having the European wind sector as a partner will be a crucial element of any energy intensive industry being able to reduce emissions. The first step is to develop a plan for direct electrification for industry, then we jointly focus to help create the necessary infrastructure and new wind energy capacity. That is what the Antwerp Declaration is about.” said Cefic Director General Marco Mensink.
“Cement is a critical component in the construction of wind turbine foundations and their recycling, while the growth of renewable energy is indispensable to achieve the cement sector’s net zero ambition. We look forward to a good cooperation with the wind energy sector to support a strong EU industrial policy and help building the business case for decarbonisation investments.” said Koen Coppenholle CEO of CEMBUREAU, the European cement association.
“Energy intensive industries are essential to the competitiveness of Europe’s cleantech economy. In particular, wind and steel represent one of the most tangible examples of circularity in decarbonisation: the steel industry needs large amounts of carbon-free electricity generated from renewables to produce green steel. At the same time, a modern onshore wind turbine contains around 120 tonnes of steel per MW of capacity. Only the synergy between the EU Green Deal with a strategic Industrial Deal will ensure the competitiveness of all our key industries at international level. Europe can only be stronger with European made steel and solid European value chains.” said EUROFER Director General Axel Eggert.
“As Europe’s most electrified sector today, our future is inseparable from a thriving European wind sector. Today’s partnership is an important signal that European value chains are working together to make a collective success of the Green Deal, putting a strong industrial base at the centre. European metals producers depend on the delivery of low-carbon electricity at globally competitive prices. In turn, we supply the wind sector with secure and sustainable strategic raw materials. We need close value chain partnership to emerge stronger from this challenging period, where the energy crisis has forced large parts of the metals industry offline. Let’s make a real Industrial Deal happen.” said Guy Thiran, Director General, Eurometaux (Europe’s Metals Association).
