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During WindEurope’s Annual Event 2024 in Bilbao, Spain, Teresa Ribera, the Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and Juan Diego Díaz, the President of the Spanish Wind Energy Association, officially endorsed the ‘Spanish Wind Charter’. This charter outlines strategic actions to expedite the growth of wind energy in Spain and maximize its socio-economic advantages.
The charter earmarks six key areas for advancing the wind energy sector and identifies the necessary tools to implement these strategies:
- Enhancing visibility and resilience in wind energy planning.
- Improving the design of wind energy auctions to prioritize non-price criteria.
- Strengthening coordination among wind energy companies.
- Enhancing predictability and encouraging long-term agreements.
- Monitoring international trade practices to prevent unfair competition.
- Reinforcing Spain’s wind energy manufacturing capabilities.
In December 2023, 26 EU energy ministers signed the European Wind Charter, committing to adopt the measures outlined in the European Wind Power Package. Spain not only joined this initiative but played a pivotal role in rallying other countries to participate. Many of the 300 companies endorsing the European Wind Charter were Spanish entities.
The signing of the ‘Spanish Wind Charter’ highlights the Spanish Government’s and the wind sector’s dedication to fortifying wind energy in the nation. Wind energy is already a primary source of electricity in Spain, accounting for 27% of the country’s total electricity consumption.
Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, said “Last year’s EU Wind Power Package was a game changer – 15 immediate actions to strengthen Europe’s wind industry and speed up the expansion of wind energy. 26 Governments then signed a European Wind Charter committing to implement the Package. It’s great that Spain is now delivering on that commitment by signing a national Wind Charter spelling out the actions the Government and industry are going to take. Good auction design, faster permitting, support for Spain’s excellent wind industry – bring it on.”
Juan Diego Díaz, President of AEE, added “The current energy situation, together with the geopolitical scenario of dependence on energy products and their value chains, justifies the adoption of emergency mechanisms under a common approach in the European Union, which will allow further progress towards the Energy Transition, while ensuring strategic autonomy based on the leadership of “cleantech” technologies in Europe, both of its actors and its critical supply chains. The signing of the Wind Energy Charter demonstrates that wind is one of the key technologies for the transition to renewable energy sources, and projects an image of Spain in the international arena as a driving force, a benchmark country with the conviction to achieve open industrial autonomy in clean technologies”.
