WindEurope reports that first supply chain delays already noticeable but claims it is ‘too soon to judge’ impact on sector revenues
The European wind power sector is braced for potential economic headwinds in the wake of the escalating coronavirus outbreak, with trade body WindEurope today warning that some supply chains are already being hit by delays.
With Covid-19 impeding international trade as governments around the world implement travel and trade restrictions to try and halt the spread of the virus, WindEurope said delays and uncertainties across the global economy would likely soon hit the wind industry as the number of infections rise.
But while it said the first logistical delays in the supply chain “can be observed already”, it stressed that at present it still expected the coronavirus fallout to have only “moderate effects” on global supply chains for wind energy, such as for turbines and blades.
Giles Dixon, WindEurope’s CEO stressed it was “too soon to judge” the impacts on production and revenues in Europe’s offshore and onshore wind sectors as the outbreak of the virus remains at a relatively early stage, but warned developers could well face financial penalties from project delays.
“With COVID-19 we are likely to see delays in the development of new wind farm projects which could cause developers to miss the deployment deadlines in countries’ auction systems and face financial penalties,” he said. “Governments should be flexible on how they apply their rules. And if ongoing auctions are undersubscribed because developers can’t bid in time, governments should award what they can and auction the non-awarded volumes at a later stage.”
It follows fresh analysis late last week from BoombergNEF, which revised down its 2020 growth forecasts for the global solar and electric vehicle sectors due to the economic slowdown expected in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, in the first signal that the pandemic could stymie the rollout of clean energy across the world.
The analyst was more bullish about the wind sector, but nevertheless warned there was now “considerable downside risk” on its original 2020 forecasts for wind capacity deployment.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has also warned the escalating crisis would likely hit clean energy investment, and called for stimulus packages from governments to focus on clean energy deployment in order to deliver a short term boost for the renewables sector.
It came as leading turbine manufacturer Siemans Gamesa today confirmed it has been forced to close one of its facilities in Spain after an employee tested positive for coronavirus, according to Recharge.
But Dixon stressed that wind power was “not the only industry feeling the pinch from quarantines, travel restrictions and closed factories”.
“Vehicle and vessel manufacturers, solar-PV panel and battery producers are being similarly affected,” he added. “We will need to take a strategic approach to ensure that disruption is minimised.”
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