Photo: Bert van der Lingen
On 15 October, MEPs Barry Andrews MEP, Annalisa Corrado and Bart Groothuis, officials of the European Commission, together with representatives of WindEurope, visited Sif Group's new monopile plant and Eneco's new coastal wind farm in Rotterdam. The Sif plant is one of 30 sites in the wind energy supply chain across Europe that are being expanded to meet the EU’s 2030 energy security and climate targets. NedZero Vice-President Bert van Lingen joined the visit.
"The visit to the Sif factory has underlined the efforts of the wind supply chain to scale up. We are creating thousands of jobs and strengthening Europe's competitiveness.
The Net Zero Industry Act requires 36 GW of wind generation capacity in the EU by 2030.
To achieve this we need more support. Facilitate access to capital, ensure a level playing field with non-European competitors, stimulate further network development and our European companies will deliver!"
Expansion Sif
In February 2023, offshore wind foundation manufacturer Sif took the final investment decision on the expansion of its factory in the Port of Rotterdam, with the aim of building the world’s largest monopile foundation installation. Monopiles are the most common foundation type used to install offshore wind turbines. Sif is investing more than EUR 300 million to expand production to the annual equivalent of 200 XXXL foundations – each with a diameter of 11 meters.
The WindEurope visitors group was among the first to witness the progress of the construction on site. The new production halls of the plant have been delivered. And the first production line was launched in August. Sif expects the new production lines to be fully operational in the first half of 2025. During the visit, Fred van Beers, CEO of Sif, emphasized the crucial role of the expansion in meeting the growing demand for offshore wind turbines in the North Sea and beyond.
Clean Industrial Deal
Representatives of the Port of Rotterdam Authority showed what needs to happen on the demand side to make the EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal a reality. The port supports the electrification of shipping activities, facilitates local production of renewable hydrogen and rewards discounts on seaport dues for ships with higher environmental standards.
And the port also has several renewable energy plants. The WindEurope group visited one of the largest sites: the 120 MW Maasvlakte 2 wind farm of Eneco. The wind farm supplies the equivalent of the average annual electricity consumption of 152,000 households.
More wind farms are needed in industrial zones across Europe to shorten electricity transmission distances and maximise grid efficiency of renewable energy systems.
