EU to brace for ‘starkest’ winter as due to 'energy war'
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Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s energy minister demanded that the EU does more to ease the approval process for renewable energy projects. Once built, such projects would generate electricity at a much cheaper rate than oil and gas, while also helping the fuel-starved bloc boost energy security and wean itself off Russian oil and gas exports. Experts agree that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been bankrolled by the country’s fossil fuel revenues, which have soared to record levels since Vladimir Putin started squeezing gas supplies.
Mr Jørgensen noted that while the EU had “sent some good signals” about smoothing out regulatory procedures, “there is still potential for us to do better”.
He said: “It’s not only about regulation but also, as public authorities, how you deal with these processes.
“How do you make sure that when the contractor is doing this project, they’re able to do it said. as swiftly as possible?”
According to the Financial Times, it can take as long as nine years for wind farms to be built, even though the construction process can be completed within months.
Mr Jørgensen noted that while the EU had “sent some good signals” about smoothing out regulatory procedures, “there is still potential for us to do better”.
He said: “It’s not only about regulation but also, as public authorities, how you deal with these processes.
“How do you make sure that when the contractor is doing this project, they’re able to do it said. as swiftly as possible?”
According to the Financial Times, it can take as long as nine years for wind farms to be built, even though the construction process can be completed within months.
Even the EU agrees that permitting procedures need to be “drastically accelerated”, setting out good practice recommendations.
Denmark currently has 1.5GW out the 2.8GW built in the Baltic sea, but believes that the region has the potential for 936GW.
As wholesale gas prices in the EU reach nearly 12 times higher than it was this time last year, EU countries have begun turning to renewable energy production.
Next month, the European Parliament is set to vote on proposals to boost the bloc’s renewable energy production to account for 45 percent by 2030, up from its 32 percent target
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However, industry experts have made it clear that such targets will be almost impossible to achieve.
Aside from the slow approval process for wind projects, the cost of building wind farms have surged as China, which is a major supplier of the metals needed to make turbines, have struggled with numerous Covid-19 lockdowns.
Wind Europe, an industry body, has suggested that as a result of these obstacles, energy companies would only be able to build 18GW of wind capacity every year between 2022 and 2026, which is far below the required 37 GW target.
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