All of the EU’s 27 member countries except for Hungary said they would carry out EU recommendations. — Reuters
BRUSSELS: Nearly all European Union (EU) countries and around 300 companies and industry groups agreed on Tuesday to move ahead with plans to rapidly expand wind farms and the local industries needed to build them.
The European Commission announced plans in October to support Europe’s wind-energy industry, which will need to massively expand capacity to hit the EU’s target to get 42.5% of all energy from renewable sources by 2030 – nearly double today’s share.
All of the EU’s 27 member countries except for Hungary said on Tuesday they would carry out EU recommendations including changing renewable-energy auctions in ways that could give local manufacturers an edge – by requiring developers to compete not only based on price, but also on cybersecurity and labour standards.
A spokesperson for Hungary’s EU representation declined to say why the country did not join, but cited an “ongoing national legislative procedure” without specifying further.
The governments agreed to also step up investments in local manufacturing capacity for wind turbines and other parts.
Ingrid Reumert, a senior vice-president at Orsted , the world’s largest offshore wind developer, welcomed the governments’ pledge to “walk the talk”.
“The real roadblocks to building 30GW of wind every single year up until 2030, which is what we need to do to reach our climate targets, will be dealt with by individual EU countries,” she said. — Reuters
