Enercon CEO warns transport infrastructure is key barrier to wind power growth
Udo Bauer says there is no bottleneck on the supplier side but higher volumes of turbines need better roads and bridges
The wind “industry can and will deliver” higher volumes of wind power additions as targeted by politicians, but there needs to be better infrastructure in place to transport wind turbines under bridges or on roads, Enercon CEO Udo Bauer said.
“Industry can and will deliver. There will not be a bottleneck on the supplier side. You will see it in the next two days here at the fair that the industry is prepared for that,” Bauer told an opening panel.
“I don't see a bottleneck. All technical solutions are in place and ready to use. … All are prepared for that.”
The wind sector has a “significant pipeline of new orders into the supply chain of OEMs, the CEO added, who also spoke for VDMA Power Systems, a group representing German wind turbine manufacturers.
But Bauer added that it was important that an improvement of framework conditions would now be discussed.
“We need better infrastructure. … One thing is we still have problems when it comes to the delivery of turbines. That means we need better infrastructure.
“Bridges and roads are not in the condition that you can really speed up [deployment] in the manner that has just been talked about,” the CEO said in a clear reference to Habeck.
Bauer added that the expansion of the power grid also needed “to keep pace with rest of the pack" and asked for investment programmes by the EU and its member states.
Finally, the Enercon chief said “production at home should be rewarded. We need a harmonised approach” and less bureaucracy.
At the same panel, Nordex CEO José Luis Blanco said Germany showed a good example of how governments can accelerate the energy transition, by giving renewable projects the status of being in the “overriding public interest, boosting permits”, and increasing auction volumes.
“I hope many countries will follow Germany’s example in pushing permits, and volumes,” he said, but cautioned that the government now should be careful “what not to do in the future”, meaning it should not end its successful feed-in tariff system.
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