Supporting the SET-Plan implementation plan for offshore WIND energy

Project Information

SETWIND

Grant agreement ID: 842231

DOI

10.3030/842231

Project closed

EC signature date 18 March 2019

Start date 16 March 2019

End date 15 March 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 998 512,25

EU contribution

€ 998 512,25

Coordinated by

DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SETWIND (Supporting the SET-Plan implementation plan for offshore WIND energy)

Reporting period: 2020-09-16 to 2022-03-15

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan) was launched 10 years ago in 2008 and updated in 2015 with the communication from the European Commission entitled “Towards an Integrated SET-Plan”1.
As part of the updated SET-Plan, a number of targets were defined for the different technology sectors, including offshore wind energy. In 2016, a number of Temporary Working Groups (TWGs) were established to identify how the EU, Member States and the Industry could work together to achieve the targets. The result of that effort should be a set of implementation plans for each technology. In June 2018, the Temporary Working Group for Offshore Wind Energy (TWG) delivered the SET-Plan Offshore Wind Implementation Plan (hereafter: Implementation Plan) to the SET-Plan Steering Group.

SETWIND supports the implementation of the Implementation Plan. The project supports the continued work of the SET-Plan Implementation Working Group for Offshore Wind Energy and facilitate the implementation of the research and Innovation (R&I) priorities through cross-border coordination of nationally funded projects. The SETWind project is executed in close collaboration with key SET-Plan stakeholder partners such as the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Wind Energy (ETIPWIND), the Joint Programme for Wind Energy of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA JP WIND), the SET-Plan secretariat and SETIS. Furthermore, SETWind is working with the EU Joint Research Centre in Petten, IEA Wind TCP and other international organisations to monitor and report on progress and disseminate key lessons and results of the project.

With the launch of the EU Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy (Nov 2020) and the ambition of 300GW offshore wind power in the EU-27 member states by 2050, SETWIND has a clear target to support this ambition by enabling better coordination and development of R&I activities, policies and agenda setting.

The SETWIND project has four objectives:
1) Increase cross-border coordination of national research in wind energy
2) Support the development of the "rolling agenda" of R&I priorities in the Implementation Plan
3) Continue policy coordination between national funding agencies
4) Monitor and report on progress

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

SETWIND is organised in five work packages. Activities in the work packages are going according to plan in four of the five work packages, with some delays in a few deliverables due to COVID-19 or agreed changes due to dependencies with EU policies or external partners.

Work Package 1 "Cross border collaboration" has not progressed as expected as no cross-border projects have been initiated. Deliverables 1.2 outlines the cause of the lack of progress including the challenges posed by COVID-19 to cross-border activities. This has been addressed by investing more efforts into coordinating and supporting the Clean Energy Transition Partnership preparing for HorizonEurope.

Work Package 2 "R&I priorities" has delivered the three reports for the period: a) D2.1 "1st annual report on priorities for the rolling R&I agenda", b) D2.2 "Recommendations for new criteria for evaluating impact of wind energy R&I" and c) D2.3 "Summary of prospect European Lighthouse projects". All of these reflect a significant involvement of SET-Plan stakeholders and beyond and have contributed to the update of the SET-Plan Implementation Plan for Offshore Wind that will be delivered in April 2021. Deliverable D2.2 was refocused on the challenge of moving beyond LCOE and has gained tracking with key industrial and academic partners in the SETPlan community and beyond, spurring national efforts in the field.

Work Package 3 "Implementation plan monitoring and reporting" has delivered two quality reports on the progress towards the SET-Plan offshore wind targets and a mapping of R&I policies and priorities for offshore wind. These reports have been made in collaboration with the European Commission's Joint Research Center in Petten, utilising the data from the JRCs report and combining with relevant national and international resources. The update of the Implementation Plan for Offshore Wind was kicked off at the Steering Committee meeting in M14 and is now due in April 2021 following a postponement to adapt to the EC Strategy for Offshore Renewable Energy.

Work Package 4 "Communication and Dissemination" has played an important role in supporting SETWINDs ambition to engage the entire wind power SET-Plan community. In addition to setting up all communication channels including website and LinkedIn profile, a key effort has been the organisation with EERA JP Wind and ETIPWIND of the annual event in September 2019 and 2020. The second annual event was fully online due to COVID-19 and saw a spike in participation due to the easier access. A video promoting cross-border collaboration was also created together with WP1.

Work Package 5 "Coordination and SC secretariat" has a duel role in the project. Firstly to handle the daily operation and timely execution of the project and secondly to provide secretariat support to the SET-Plan Implementation Working Group for Offshore Wind which is also the SETWIND Steering Committee. For the latter, significant resources have been invested in working with member state representatives and activate existing and new participants including the addition of Greece to the IWG Offshore Wind. A total of six IWG meetings have been held during this reporting period + additional bilaterale communication with sub-groups of the IWG Offshore Wind.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The SETWIND project has delivered results beyond state-of-the-art (here considered as material or activities not previously available) primarily in WP2 and WP3. The workshop and report related to Deliverable D2.2 brings new knowledge to nascent efforts to develop matrics for energy systems that move beyond the dominant levelised cost of energy. Similarly, Deliverable D3.2 Mapping R&I policies and priorities for offshore wind provides a new and not previously available summary of national and EU policies for offshore wind.

Looking at the entire duration of the project, the update of the SETPlan Implementation Plan for Offshore Wind and associated deliverables as well as the Lighthouse Initiative for Offshore Wind is expected to represent steps forward in the R&I planning and execution of offshore wind.

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