Offshore wind farms are cutting energy bills, strengthening Europe’s energy independence, and powering industry with clean, locally produced electricity.
Speaking with “Ocean” at Denmark’s Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm, Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, highlighted a key benefit of wind energy: lower electricity bills.
“Wind energy is cheaper than the fossil alternatives. So the more of these offshore wind farms we can build, and the onshore wind farms, of course, the more electricity bills will come down for consumers,” Dickson explains.
As Europe faces rising energy demands and environmental pressures, offshore wind is increasingly seen as a reliable and affordable solution.
European governments are prioritising offshore wind because it delivers affordable, secure, and locally generated power. Dickson points out, “It’s local energy generated here in Europe with equipment manufactured here in Europe — these wind turbines were made in Denmark.” This homegrown approach not only boosts energy security but also supports local manufacturing and jobs.
Heavy industries, which consume vast amounts of electricity, are eager to tap into this clean energy source. “They’re knocking on our doors saying, can we please build more of these offshore wind farms so that they can consume the electricity, because they know it'll be cheaper to run their factories on electricity than it is to run them on fossil fuels,” Dickson says. The shift to wind power is helping European manufacturers cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint.
Despite the progress, Europe’s wind sector still relies on some key imported components. “Some wind turbines have permanent magnets that have rare earths inside them, for example. And there, we are heavily dependent on China,” Dickson notes. The European Union is now working to diversify its supply chains, aiming to source these critical materials from other countries. “It’s going to take us 5 or 10 years. But you know, this is a top priority for us,” he adds. “Because we don’t want to replace the old dependency that we had on Russian gas with a new dependency on Chinese equipment for renewable energy.”
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