WindEurope calls for complementing EU Green Deal with Industrial Deal

WindEurope on Tuesday called for coupling the EU Green Deal with an Industrial Deal as Europe needs strong energy and electricity intensive industries to deliver the large-scale growth of renewables.

Chemicals, steel, aluminium, copper and cement are all an important part of the European wind supply chain, the organisation noted in a joint statement with industry associations Cefic, Cembureau, Eurofer and Eurometaux.

“We must implement the EU Green Deal by complementing it with an Industrial Deal that helps Europe’s industries decarbonise through electrification,” said WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson as he announced WindEurope has signed the Antwerp Declaration, which was presented earlier this year in a push to strengthen Europe’s industrial sectors and ensure their competitiveness.

According to the statement, combining the EU Green Deal with an Industrial Deal will enable industry to make the necessary investments to decarbonise while boosting competitiveness.

“Having the European wind sector as a partner will be a crucial element of any energy intensive industry being able to reduce emissions,” said Cefic director general Marco Mensink. “The first step is to develop a plan for direct electrification for industry, then we jointly focus to help create the necessary infrastructure and new wind energy capacity. That is what the Antwerp Declaration is about,” Mensink added.

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