Latest news with #PierreTardieu
Euronews
25-03-2025
- Business
- Euronews
The blue economy: What is it and can it make ocean use sustainable?
Across Europe, the ocean provides food, energy, and a way to transport goods. Ocean-related activities generated €624 billion in revenue and provided jobs for 3.6 million people in the European Union in 2021. This part of the economy is known as the 'blue economy', which covers a range of sectors, including maritime transport, tourism, fishing and aquaculture, biotechnology and research, resource extraction and renewable energies. But many of these industries are emissions-heavy and harmful to the environment. Maritime transport, for instance, was responsible for 3% to 4% of total EU emissions in 2019. Without a major shift towards reducing emissions, this number is projected to grow by at least 90% until 2050. 'The whole idea with having a sustainable blue economy is to keep the ocean healthy, and by doing that, you also get a more productive ocean,' says Jan-Gunnar Winther, researcher and pro-rector of the Arctic University of Norway (UiT). Many companies and actors of the blue economy are moving in this direction. Initiatives such as building offshore wind farms for electricity, using ocean wave power for energy, or making sustainable aquaculture fish feed from algae are multiplying. Upscaling solutions, a pressing challenge A more sustainable use of ocean resources would also help increase sustainability in other parts of the global economy, notably in the transition to renewable energies through solutions like tidal energy and offshore wind farms. But these initiatives often face structural obstacles that prevent them from upscaling. Although there are concerns about the environmental impact of the construction of offshore wind farms, they are currently one of the lowest CO2-emitting ways of producing electricity. Offshore wind energy is currently hampered by supply chain bottlenecks and problems with connecting farms to the electricity grid, according to Pierre Tardieu, Chief Policy Officer at WindEurope, an association promoting wind power in Europe. 'We have one very large offshore wind farm that is fully built in Germany, for example, 900MW that we're not able to count in our wider statistics because they're not yet connected to the grid,' he says. Although the wind farm off the German island of Borkum is ready to produce electricity, there are currently no cables connecting it to the onshore electricity grid. Tardieu says it will take at least one more year for this to happen. And across Europe, expanding the electricity grid to include cleaner solutions is a challenge. How can these solutions grow while also ensuring environmental responsibility? To find out, watch our video explainer above.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Germany led Europe in wind turbine installations in 2024, data shows
Germany installed more wind turbines than any other European country in 2024, maintaining its position as a leader in renewable energy, according to industry association WindEurope. With new onshore and offshore installations totalling more than 4 gigawatts (GW), Germany was ahead of the United Kingdom, which installed around 1.9 GW, France with 1.7 GW installed, and Finland with 1.4 GW, WindEurope data released on Thursday showed. Across the EU, a total of 13 GW of wind power was installed last year — falling short of expectations. "This is disappointing," said Pierre Tardieu of WindEurope, citing grid bottlenecks, ongoing permit challenges and difficult financial conditions as key obstacles. Offshore wind expansion was further hindered by limited port capacity and a shortage of suitable vessels. Europe installed 16.4 GW of new wind power in 2024, bringing total wind capacity to 285 GW. However, to meet the EU's 2030 climate targets, annual installations must reach 30 GW, the association said. WindEurope projects that 186 GW of new wind power capacity will be installed between 2025 and 2030. The EU aims to generate 42.5% of its total energy from renewables by the end of the decade, requiring a significant acceleration in wind power expansion. WindEurope praised Germany for setting a national record with permits for 14 GW of wind energy. The association urged other countries to follow suit by adopting EU approval regulations and expressed confidence that a new German government would continue the country's "wind energy success story."
