Vestas Will Discontinue Four Wind Energy Projects in Russia

Danish wind energy major Vestas will reportedly stop four wind farm projects that are being developed currently in Russia. This is an outcome of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had drawn sanctions especially from the US and Europe.

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The development of the four key wind energy projects commenced by Vestas in September, 2021. These projects are Novoalekseevskaya, Grazhdanskaya, Ivanovskaya and Pokrovskaya. The combined wind power capacity of the all four stands about 253 megawatt (MW). The projects were ordered by a consortium between Finland’s Fortum and Russia’s Gazprombank.

For Russia, the blow to these projects will not really be a major issue, thanks to that country's low dependence on non-nuclear renewables being very low. On top of that, Russia had very unambitious plans for renewables expansion, caught up as it has been in maximising its oil and gas revenues and protecting turf there.

Energy Crisis

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The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused an energy emergency across the world and more so in Europe. The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said just recently that Europe must end its dependency on Russian energy supplies especially gas. She called for a rapid expansion of renewables and hydrogen by the European countries to achieve their own energy security. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has also released a report outlining 10 points for the EU to cut dependence on Russian imports.

The European Commission President said, “Our investments today will make us more independent tomorrow. I am thinking, first and foremost, about our energy security. We simply cannot rely so much on a supplier that explicitly threatens us.” She added, “We have to accelerate the green transition. Because every kilowatt-hour of electricity Europe generates from solar, wind, hydropower or biomass reduces our dependency on Russian gas and other energy sources.”