The coronavirus pandemic is starting to cause shortages impacting on the construction and operation of offshore wind farms, Gunnar Groebler, senior vice president and head of the wind business area at Vattenfall, said in a cautionary note to policymakers.

Groebler, who is also the chairman of European wind industry advocacy body WindEurope, made his comments in an online version of the keynote speech he planned to deliver for the Hamburg Offshore Wind conference, in Hamburg, Germany, which has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

“We as a renewables developer are starting to experience shortage in terms of components, logistics, and people, for the development, the construction and the operation of our projects,” Groebler said.

Policymakers need to listen carefully to the needs of the industry and remain flexible about the exact timing of tenders, he said.

“All market actors need some time to handle the implications of the Covid-19 spread,” Groebler said.

Vattenfall had pulled out of the latest zero subsidy tender for the Hollandse Kust North zone in the Netherlands, which Dutch authorities have maintained despite the uncertainty caused by the virus outbreak.

As there still is a need to fight the global climate crisis, continuity is vital in Germany and Europe, Groebler added, and the economic and public health crisis must not be allowed to distract from the wider threat of environmental breakdown.

EU-wide post-Covid-19 recovery plans need to acknowledge offshore wind as the backbone of a largely decarbonised European economy, he said.

To reach the massive 450GW of offshore wind targeted by 2050 within the framework of the EU’s Green Deal, the EU’s offshore wind strategy to be presented later this year will be crucial. Currently, Europe has 23GW of offshore wind installed off its coasts.

Policymakers need to get two things right, Groebler stressed: making maritime spatial planning their number one priority – as other users, such as fisheries, shipping or defense industries compete for marine space – and develop 'meshed, high voltage grids at sea.

Also, the large-scale production of green hydrogen from offshore wind should be one of the main pillars for decarbonising Europe’s industrial processes.

Germany has a special responsibility as the country holds the presidency of the European Council in the second half of this year, as well as of the North Sea Energy Cooperation, Groebler added.

“The German government needs an appropriate national framework for further growth of offshore wind.”

Berlin should finally include an increased 2030 target of 20GW – up from 15GW – of offshore wind in its Renewable Energies Act, and aim for an annual build-out of 2-3GW to get to 40-50GW by 2050, he said.

The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has promised to raise the 2030 offshore wind target, but so far has failed to enshrine that in legislation.

Wind

Covid-19-fuelled 'shortages' impacting global offshore wind build: Vattenfall's Groebler