Bremerhaven/Cologne, 27 June 2019 — The WAB presented the "German Inland Campaign" supported by the EU project Inn2POWER at the Branchentag Windenergie NRW on 26 and 27 June in Cologne. The campaign aims at supporting the visibility of the nationwide value chain of the offshore wind industry, because the suppliers are the foundation of the industry through their innovations and specialized services and suffer from the offshore expansion cover too. The positive signals from the Conference of Economics Ministers in Bremerhaven are an important step in the right direction for the players along the entire value chain.
A study recently published by the research institute wind:research shows: The supply chain of the offshore wind industry can be found throughout Germany. Around 24,500 jobs depend directly on offshore wind, and North Rhine-Westphalia and other federal states such as Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria also benefit from the still young value chain.
Not only turbine manufacturers on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts are affected by the reduced expansion targets in Germany. Numerous small and medium-sized supplier companies are also suffering from the consequences of the lack of secure framework conditions and the less ambitious expansion target for offshore wind energy. WAB Interim Managing Director Heike Winkler therefore welcomes the positive signal of the Conference of Economics Ministers in Bremerhaven: "We are pleased that the Economics Ministers of the Federal States of Bremen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia spoke out in favour of an increased expansion of the offshore wind industry at the Conference of Economics Ministers in Bremerhaven.
She complements: "The German Inland Campaign underlines the importance of Germany-wide SMEs for the offshore value chain and the energy turnaround. A strong domestic market enables these companies to tap export potential and offers the necessary long-term basis for creating further jobs. We therefore demand from Berlin politicians a clear commitment to the offshore wind industry including the special contribution written down in the coalition agreement. This should comprise up to 2 gigawatts in order not to endanger any further jobs in this future-oriented wind industry".
WAB Chairwoman of the Executive Board Irina Lucke adds: "WAB represents in particular the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are enormously important for the offshore value chain. With the “German Inland Campaign” we want to inform and above all draw attention to the fact that the cap on offshore expansion is wrong and urgently needs to be corrected".
The Branchentag Windenergie NRW took place in Cologne on 26 and 27 June. The evening event on 26 June was dedicated to the "German Inland Campaign". On the second day, after two keynote speeches by Dirk Briese from wind:research and Heiko Messerschmidt from IG Metall Küste, there was a panel discussion with Prof. Dr. Josef Gochermann, member of the CDU state board, Christian Jaffke from the VGB PowerTech e.V. power plant school, Eric Effern from Windtest Grevenbroich and Heike Winkler. Two further dates for the "German Inland Campaign" are planned for this year.
