GWEC’s COVID-19 response hub has been set up to coordinate information and responses to the current pandemic, across the global wind energy sector. The hub gathers information from GWEC’s corporate members who are involved in supply chain manufacturing and project execution, national and regional associations, governments, international institutions, analysts and the press.

The aim of the Hub is to facilitate coordination and assistance to national associations and companies by sharing information, and making available best practice from across the world in terms of making sure we can continue to operate (safely) as an industry, and that the wind sector’s critical contribution to economic activities and growth is understood by policymakers.

The Hub will also monitor economic stimulus packages that are being designed or rolled out around the world, to help ensure that the wind sector is being fully consulted and taken into consideration. It is vitally important that we see green stimulus plans emerging in order to ensure sustainable economic growth post-COVID. It is also vital to ensure that momentum is not lost on the crucial issue of climate change in the context of a future economic bounce back.

GWEC and its partners will carry out a series of activities based around the Hub, including:

• Weekly COVID-19 bulletin;
• Monthly Webcast featuring expert insight from across different regions, sectors and institutions;
• Policy coordination and providing information on best practice regulation from across the world, helping local associations and companies to understand this and incorporate into their discussions with government;
• Position statements to enhance engagement around stimulus packages as these come into focus in different countries and regions.

Your support and engagement is vital. Please contact [email protected] for more information

GWEC is engaging with the industry and national associations globally to assess the impacts that the COVID-19 crisis will have on the wind energy industry including economic relief and stimulus packages to mitigate the impact of the crisis, extension of crucial policies such as Feed-in-Tariffs, tax credits, construction deadlines and auction rounds, as well as health and safety regulation to ensure that the global wind industry workforce is protected during this time as they are on the frontlines continuing to power our society.

It is crucial that the energy transition remains a top priority for all policymakers during this time, and that the right policies and regulations are in place so that the wind and other renewable industries can emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.

Wind energy has gone from a niche to a mainstream energy source in the past four decades. Europe used to be the world’s largest wind turbine manufacturing base, however, to accommodate wind market growth outside of Europe, local supply chains have been established in North America, Asia, Latin America and mostly recently in Africa. As of today, wind industry has become a truly global business with the turbine nacelle, components and materials produced all around the world.

However, the world, and the global wind supply chain with it, has been hit hard by the COVID-19 virus, first in China, then the rest of world. Although China managed to get the virus under control within two months, disruption has already been seen to the flow of supply chain. In fact full production is not yet resumed by the end of March, as some key components and materials are heavily relying on imports from other regions. At present, Europe, North America and India, the major manufacturing hubs for the global wind industry, are still in the middle of the crisis. Although most wind-related manufacturing remains in operation, the production at some turbine assemblies and component production facilities, for example in Spain, Italy, the UK and India, have been temporarily suspended to stem the spread of coronavirus.

As disruption to the supply chain is likely to trigger a domino effect for global wind turbine production, GWEC Market Intelligence is monitoring the global supply chain situation closely and will provide the latest status of global wind supply chain in this section. 

These country updates focus on the key issues that could impact the wind industry during the COVID-19 crisis, including impact on workforce, status of wind as an essential service in national measures, inclusion of wind in economic stimulus packages, status of important polices for the local wind industry such as auctions and Feed-in-tariff deadlines, GWEC and national association's activities to actively promote the wind industry in national measures during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as additional links and resources.

GWEC is actively engaging with all national wind energy associations to provide a country-by-country update on the impact of COVID-19 on the local wind industry. Currently, we have included updates for the top 6 wind energy markets globally and will continue to add more information on other markets as the situation develops.

Additional resources from Wind Associations:

• Europe: WindEurope Information Hub
• US: AWEA COVID-19 Information & Resources

GWEC will be holding regular Webcasts to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the wind sector to provide you with the most up-to-date information at both the global and country-level as the situation evolves. These Webcasts are free for everyone to join, see the library of webcasts along with registration links to our upcoming Webcasts below.