WindEurope Bulletin July 2025
Dear WindEurope member,
This week the EU Commission tabled a new climate target for Europe. They’re calling for a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 – compared with 1990. This is in addition to the goal that clearly remains of climate neutrality by 2050.
The new target is welcome. It sends a clear investment signal – Europe is electrifying and going renewable. But even more important is that National Governments set clear volumes for the new wind they plan to deploy each year from 2031-40. And that they implement their 2030 targets. Governments should also take the following four immediate steps to help them deliver the build-out of wind energy:
- Implement the new EU rules to improve renewables permitting;
- Optimise and expand Europe’s electricity grid;
- Remove barriers to electrification; and
- De-risk investments with the right type of 2-sided Contracts for Difference auctions.
The EU Commission has also published its new state aid rules for public financial support to industries that want to electrify and to Europe’s clean tech industries. Heavy industries all over Europe want to electrify with renewables. Now National Governments can use state aid to help them with the big investments this entails. Which in turn will boost Europe’s competitiveness and energy security.
The new rules also allow Governments to offer temporary relief to energy-intensive industries struggling with high electricity prices. This is conditional on them using renewables, storage, demand-side flexibility and investing in electrification. Good. You can read more about the new state aid rules here.
Now a quick word on the European Investment Bank. They just raised their 2025 financing ceiling to €100bn and confirmed that their main focus is energy security, competitiveness and Europe’s tech leadership. They’ve also expanded the counter-guarantee facility for wind projects that they brought in under the 2023 EU Wind Power Package to €6.5bn. And they’re preparing a separate counter-guarantee scheme for grid equipment manufacturers. This is great. The Bank should now build on this by expanding the scope of these schemes to include warranty bonds. And offer more support to wind R&I. More on this here. And you can watch our recent joint webinar with the EIB here.
Finally a reminder that RE-Source 2025, Europe’s largest gathering of clean energy buyers and sellers, is back in Amsterdam on 4-5 November. Here is the programme. And you can register here.
I wish you all a happy and restful summer break.
Kind regards,
Giles Dickson
European citizens and businesses want reliable, affordable and clean energy. The current geopolitical situation is a stark reminder that imported fossil fuels do not deliver that. Wind is homegrown, it’s uniquely placed to boost Europe’s energy security, prosperity and competitiveness while delivering on decarbonisation.
Here is our industry’s common message to the wider world – on our value in Europe today, and what Governments can do to help wind deliver for all Europeans.
WindEurope’s new wind farm tool is now live. This updated version includes onshore data and your input where possible. Please note that this tool is available exclusively to members in categories C2 and above.
- Use filters to quickly find wind farms you are interested in from the database of almost 28,000 onshore and offshore projects.
- Projects are arranged by size and status, from largest to smallest and online to planned, so you can immediately find the largest operational wind farms in your region of choice.
- Or use the smart filter and find all the projects from the developer you’re interested in with turbines from the OEM of your choice, for example.
- Finally click on the wind farm to see where it is located and have all the details related to it in one place.
Are you and your colleagues making the most of the WindEurope Intelligence Platform? There is a wide range of resources available, and new content being added and refined regularly.
If you would like a personalised demonstration from someone in our Market Intelligence team, or if you have suggestions for new content you’d like to see, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].
As offshore wind development accelerates across Europe, seabed surveys are under increasing scrutiny, for both their scientific adequacy and environmental footprint. In a new white paper, Venterra Group calls for a shift in how benthic surveys are procured and evaluated. The authors argue that rigid, prescriptive specifications are limiting the adoption of innovative, non-extractive technologies and preventing developers from weighing the relative merits of different approaches.
The white paper challenges the assumption that sediment grabs should remain the default method for benthic characterisation. Grabs are widely used and familiar to regulators, but in many cases, alternative methods are faster, significantly more cost-effective, and better suited to answering important ecological questions. These alternatives can also provide broader ecosystem insights, critical for projects aiming to achieve biodiversity net gain.
Venterra advocates for procurement practices that prioritise fit-for-purpose science. Rather than prescribing specific methodologies, the authors recommend that procurement documents focus on the ecological and regulatory questions surveys must answer. This approach, they argue, would support the integration of non-extractive technologies such as Sediment Profile and Plan View (SPI/PV) imagery, which not only deliver faster and less invasive insights into seafloor habitats, but also offer ecological context and sediment structure data that grab samples cannot capture. These methods can reduce the need for multiple field campaigns and lessen cumulative impacts associated with monitoring across project portfolios.
“Offshore wind is expanding at a scale that makes extractive surveys both environmentally and financially burdensome,” said Marisa Guarinello, a benthic ecologist and co-author of the paper. “Our goal is to encourage developers and regulators to ask: what do we really need to know about the benthos, and what is the most efficient and ecologically meaningful way to find it out?”
The paper is grounded in decades of field experience and supported by a body of peer-reviewed literature demonstrating that image-based tools can meet or exceed the performance of extractive methods, often at lower cost and on faster timescales. These tools can also generate data that supports long-term monitoring, adaptive management, and biodiversity enhancement, outcomes that sediment grabs alone are less equipped to deliver.
The authors stress that when procurement documents mandate grabs, developer consenting teams are denied the opportunity to assess trade-offs or pursue more efficient, informative methods. Early, collaborative dialogue between regulators, developers, and scientists is essential to avoiding these missed opportunities.
In addition, Ocean Ecostructures provides its clients with a monitoring service through underwater drones and reporting, storing all the information of each of the micro-reefs directly in the cloud.
Venterra has supported environmental assessments for offshore wind around the world, including post-construction benthic monitoring at South Fork Wind, which used non-extractive survey techniques to document the turbine reef effect (case study). Venterra’s environmental work also includes fisheries, marine acoustic modelling, nature-based design, consenting, EIA and advisory services.
“We’re not saying there’s one right method,” said Guarinello. “We’re saying that good science should come first, and benthic procurement should reflect that, along with other business considerations, like schedule and cost, that are served by a less prescriptive approach.”
The white paper is available for download.
VALOREM reaches target with first-ever crowdlending campaign in Finnish renewables
For the first time, renewable energy company VALOREM has brought crowdlending to Finland, offering citizens a way to invest in a wind power project. Just one week after launch, the campaign successfully reached its target of €250,000.
VALOREM Energies Finland launched the country’s first crowdlending campaign on 12 May in Kiuruvesi. The campaign reached its €250,000 goal in a record seven days. It was hosted on the Finnish investment platform Invesdor, with the first week targeted specifically at local residents.
The campaign’s rapid success reflects a growing public interest in renewable energy at the local level and strengthens VALOREM’s commitment to social responsibility. Crowdlending allows more people to share in the financial benefits of a project. The funds will be used for wind measurement activities for the Lapinsalo wind power project, which is currently in the development phase in Kiuruvesi.
“We are truly grateful for the trust and interest shown by our investors. The speed at which the campaign filled shows that Finnish people are ready to support real climate action and want to be part of building a cleaner energy future. We look forward to expanding this model to other projects as well”, says Minna Jukola, Country Manager and Chair of the Board at VALOREM Energies Finland.
“This campaign has taught us a great deal about Finnish enthusiasm for investing in renewable energy. From the beginning, the Lapinsalo project sparked exceptional local interest — exactly as we had hoped. It’s inspiring to see private citizens wanting to be involved not just in words, but in concrete action”, says Mari Lymysalo, CEO of Invesdor Nordics.
The success of the campaign sends VALOREM a strong message: these projects enjoy broad public support at the local level. According to Minna Jukola, the company intends to continue strengthening public acceptance of renewable energy through close collaboration with landowners, municipalities, and local stakeholders.
From Kiuruvesi’s perspective, the Lapinsalo project is a clear example of the long-term local benefits of wind power. The wind farm is expected to operate in the region for up to 35 years, generating tens of millions of euros in property tax revenue. With a total investment in the hundreds of millions, the project is economically significant not only for Kiuruvesi and the region, but for all of Finland. It will also support local employment during construction (e.g. accommodation, logistics, maintenance).
For hunters, berry pickers and outdoor enthusiasts, the project will improve year-round accessibility to the area, as all access roads within the wind farm will be maintained throughout the year.
The Lapinsalo wind farm will include up to 44 wind turbines, each with a nominal capacity of around 8 MW. Together, they are expected to generate renewable electricity for the annual consumption of approximately 190,000 Finnish households, assuming a figure of 5,000 kWh per household per year.
Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that occurs annually on 15 June. It’s an occasion to learn more about wind and the possibilities it brings to reshape our energy systems, decarbonise our economies and boost jobs and growth.
This year our theme was #WorkingInWind – personal snapshots profiling people from all over the wind energy sector. Check out some of the contributions to our campaign below! And thank you again to everyone who took part!
RE-Source, Europe’s number one event for clean energy buyers and suppliers, is back.
This year, our focus is helping corporate energy buyers stay on track to meet their 2050 net-zero goals, amid a challenging business environment. Join us to:
- Network with 1,400+ participants;
- Learn from and engage with 100+ senior political and industry speakers; and
- Be part of the 400+ prescheduled B2B meetings between clean energy buyers and suppliers.
Whether you have a long experience of green corporate procurement, or are just starting out, RE-Source is a chance to hear from key stakeholders and policymakers and to meet buyers across the corporate world looking to go green.
Sign up now and join us at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam!
EoLIS 2025 – Register your interest 
EoLIS – WindEurope’s End-of-Life Issues and Strategies Seminar – is back this November. Join 250+ O&Ms, academics, sustainability experts and other industry professionals in Lisbon as we look at solutions for Europe’s ageing turbine fleet – and how to make our industry more circular in design.
But first – we need your help to set the agenda! If there’s any topic you’d like us to cover more, please fill in this quick pre-event survey! We’d greatly value your input for our next edition!
We hope you can join us in Lisbon!
WindEurope Annual Event 2026 
16,000+ people will be meeting at the IFEMA in the Spanish capital next April for a three-day conference and exhibition – WindEurope’s Annual Event 2026. Here are three steps you can take now to prepare for the event:
- Send in an abstract to shape the scope of the conference and to put new topical issues on the agenda. See the guidelines here and apply by 5 September.
- Secure a spot in the busy exhibition – book your stand before they sell out!
- Benefit from cross-sectoral visibility as an event sponsor – get in touch with our team now to discuss your options!
WindEurope is once again a Workshop Partner for the upcoming 24th Wind & Solar Integration Workshop, taking place on 7–10 October 2025 in Berlin.
This leading international event brings together more than 350 participants, 150+ speakers, and experts from over 25 countries to explore the latest technical developments in the integration of wind and solar into power systems.
- Connect with leading minds from academia and industry;
- Gain insight on topics such as grid forming, sector coupling, hydrogen, storage and much more; and
- Join the global conversation on the future of renewable energy grid integration.
The programme will be available mid-July – registration and early bird discounts start then, too.
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