Delays in European wind expected because of COVID-19

With the spread of the coronavirus the risk of wind project delays in Europe is growing and governments need to be flexible when applying post-auction rules, trade body WindEurope said today.

It is too early to predict what the impact of the coronavirus would be on production and revenues in the European wind energy industry. For now, the impact of the virus on international supply chains for wind energy is expected to be moderate. The first logistical delays are already visible.

“With COVID-19 we are likely to see delays in the development of new wind farm projects which could cause developers to miss the deployment deadlines in countries’ auction systems and face financial penalties. Governments should be flexible on how they apply their rules,” said WindEurope chief executive Giles Dickson. He also said that ongoing auctions may be undersubscribed so governments need to be ready to auction the non-awarded volumes in the future.

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