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Wind turbine orders in the third quarter of 2022 fell by 36% compared with Q3 in 2021.

This is according to the latest report from wind association WindEurope, entitled Wind Turbine Orders Monitoring Q3 2022.

The report highlights the sharp rise in costs for raw materials, components and international shipping as pressure factors on the industry.

Furthermore, slow permitting and uncertainty around the EU’s emergency electricity market interventions are stalling orders for new wind turbines.

WindEurope tracked orders for new wind turbines from nine countries which totaled 2GW in Q3 2022, bringing the total for 2022 to 7.7GW. Disclosed wind turbine orders in Q1 2021 were at 2.8GW and have been generally decreasing since.

According to WindEurope, these totals mean Europe is far off from the amount of wind energy needed to reach climate and energy targets.

In order to remedy the situation, WindEurope recommends addressing permitting challenges and strengthening the wind energy supply chain.

Policy step change

It is critical to accelerate the permitting of new projects, states WindEurope, which will provide renewables investors visibility, and strengthen and expand of the European wind supply chain.

The report calls on governments to clarify their approach to revenue caps on inframarginal producers of electricity and emphasises the need for clarity on future revenues for investors and developers.

Finally, WindEurope calls for the European Union to strengthen the supply chain by channelling Recovery and Resilience funding. The European Investment Bank can play a key role in supporting the supply chain too.