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News from WindEurope projects
The Corewind project held its first dissemination webinar on the 21 April (recording and slides available here). The online event brought together some of the companies involved in the project to discuss how floating offshore wind can help Europe go carbon-neutral through innovations and cost-reduction.
The focus of the discussions was on innovative responses to key challenges in mooring and anchoring technology, power cables interconnection and O&M strategies. Innovations in these areas are essential to pave the way for cost-competitive floating offshore wind.
Cobra, JDR and Equinor shared their industrial experience on offshore floating projects. Research institutions DTU and IREC gave an overview on the latest research developments while WindEurope provided a broader view on the latest on the European Green Deal and the role of offshore wind.
For more information contact: Sabina
About Corewind: The COREWIND project provides disruptive and cost-effective solutions for floating offshore wind technology leading to cost reduction. It is developing innovative research, modelling and optimization for concrete-based floating substructure concepts.
The Wind Harmony project held its third public workshop on 13 March. The project is developing a list of health & safety areas that would benefit from the harmonisation of national regulations and industry practices.
The online workshop focused on the validation of those health & safety areas, including their potential for harmonisation. The project is now finalising the priority list, including an assessment of the socio-economic benefits and barriers.
The final list will be presented and discussed at the fourth and final workshop, planned for 10 June. The workshop will be held online and is open to all stakeholders. Click HERE to register. For other updates check the project website.
For more information contact Dorina.
About WindHarmony: The WindHarmony project looks at health and safety (H&S) regulations and related standards impacting onshore and offshore wind energy across in Europe. It assesses and prioritises their potential for harmonisation or other type of intervention at European level.
In June, the ETIPWind platform will publish a new factsheet on floating offshore wind. The document builds on the 2019 Roadmap and will summarise the state of play in technology and spell out the benefits of floating wind development for Europe and its regions. Key industry stakeholders will engage in a deeper discussion on the factsheet and the wider trends during a dedicated webinar. Click here to stay informed.
About ETIPWind: ETIPWind works to define and agree on concrete research and innovation (R&I) priorities and communicate these to the European institutions and other decision-making bodies in order to support the EU’s ambition of a decarbonised economy by 2050.
Upcoming EU funding opportunities and Research & Innovation policy
The Blue Invest Fund is a brand new €75 million fund to support innovative SMEs in Europe active in the Blue Economy (all economic activities related to oceans, seas and coasts). The fund was jointly launched by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) earlier this year.
To receive financing, financial intermediaries must meet one or more of the criteria below:
- Be active in research, development and/or operations of the Blue economy;
- Exploit marine environment data or information in order to research, develop or manufacture products and/or services;
- Transfer non-blue economy sectors technologies and/or data to blue economy-related activities;
- Pursue digitalisation in blue economy technologies, products or services.
For more information contact Sabina.
The 2020 CEF Energy call for proposals has been opened, making €979.6 million available to finance Projects of Common Interest (PCIs) geared at the following objectives:
- Ending energy isolation;
- Increasing competitiveness by promoting the integration on the internal energy market and the interoperability of electricity and gas networks across borders;
- Enhancing the Union’s security of supply;
- Integrating energy from renewable sources and developing smart energy networks;
- Eliminating energy bottlenecks;
- Completion of the internal energy market;
- Contributing to sustainable development and protection of the environment, inter alia by the integration of energy from renewable sources and by the development of smart energy networks and cross-border carbon dioxide networks;
- Providing other benefits, e.g. in relation to the European “Green Deal” objectives.
The deadline to apply is 27 May 2020
For more information contact Sabina.
The European Commission is launching a new call for proposals. It has a €1 billion budget for research and innovation projects that will help the EU to deliver on the Green Deal.
The European Green Deal Call is expected to focus on 8 thematic areas, 2 horizontal areas and 1 potential area on international cooperation. There are two thematic areas of interest to the wind industry:
- “Area 2”: Clean, affordable and secure energy;
- “Area 3”: Industry for a clean and circular economy.
We expect the European Commission to publish the final work program and open the call for proposals in September, in the occasion of the R&I days. The call would then be open until January 2021.
For more information contact Sabina.
DG CLIMA and INEA are looking for experienced and motivated experts to evaluate projects applying to the Innovation Fund.
Who should apply? Technical experts in renewables; seasoned professional and financial experts in project development and/or corporate or project finance including due-diligence, bankability and risk analysis of projects; and legal experts with experience in permitting and public procurement.
How to apply? Register in the European Commission’s expert database and in parallel, send your CV to [email protected]
Make sure to:
• Complete all sections of the online application form;
• Document and add all relevant keywords best describing your expertise and background;
• Add your email address so that you may be contacted;
• Attach an updated CV to the registration;
• Take a look at the manual for experts for more information;
• Send a copy of your CV to [email protected].
For more information contact Sabina.
The European Commission launched an online questionnaire to consult stakeholders on the implementation of the new LIFE programme (2021-2027), which will include the Clean Energy Transition sub-programme as a new feature. Read WindEurope’s response here.
The Clean Energy Transition sub-programme of LIFE will be a continuation of the market uptake activities currently funded under Horizon 2020. The aim is to support the objectives of EU legislation and policies in the transition towards a decarbonised energy system and a decarbonised economy. It will include capacity building and dissemination of knowledge, new skills, and innovative techniques in energy efficiency and renewable energy. WindEurope has been very active in market uptake projects. We are expecting this program to continue supporting the sector on policy and market design related topics.
The last calls for the LIFE programme funding period 2014-2020 have just been published. The Climate action sub-programme funds climate change mitigation and climate governance and information.
One of the priority areas for climate change mitigation is renewable energy. Grants will be allocated to best practice, pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation and development of EU policy and law, best practices and solutions.
Climate governance and information funds projects in the areas of awareness raising, training and capacity building, law compliance and enforcement, knowledge development and stakeholder participation.
The deadline to apply is 6 October 2020
For more information contact Sabina.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has recently opened a public consultation on sustainable finance. The aim of the consultation is to collect the views and opinions of interested parties in order to inform the Commission’s renewed strategy on sustainable finance.
Building on the 2018 Action Plan on financing sustainable growth, the renewed sustainable finance strategy will provide a roadmap with new actions to increase private investment in sustainable projects and activities to support the different actions set out in the European Green Deal and to manage and integrate climate and environmental risks into the financial system. The initiative will also provide additional enabling frameworks for the European Green Deal Investment Plan.
The deadline to reply is 15 July 2020
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Legal notice: The views represented in this newsletter are those of its authors and do not represent the views or official position of the European Commission.
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