WindEurope discuss EU technology dependence at the European Commission

On 23 January WindEurope participated in the Energy Technology Dependence Workshop at the European Commission.

The event was organized in the context of a project carried out for DG RTD by Trinomics, Ricardo, DNV-GL and TNO. The project aims to both develop a better understanding of EU technology dependence in the field of renewable energy technologies and to support the objectives set out in the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan.

The final outcome of the study will be delivered at the end of 2018, and will make recommendations on how policy makers can mitigate the potential risks raised by critical technology dependencies. These dependencies have important impacts on energy security, competitiveness and market leadership ambitions. Currently, there are growing concerns that supply chains for low carbon technologies in the EU might depend excessively on processing solutions, sub-systems and key raw materials coming from outside Europe. This concern has not yet been fully quantified, but remains a key point of investigation in the project.

The event was attended by the project partners – who presented the initial results of the analysis – as well as renewables associations representing wind, solar, biomass and energy storage, together with the European Commission, who were invited to provide their input.

Throughout the discussions on wind energy, participants highlighted the importance of investment in Research & Innovation, both for mature and non-mature technologies, as a way of sustaining wind energy’s competitive edge in Europe and beyond.