Lengthy permit delays are slowing down Europe’s push for clean energy, and industry leaders say the solution is already on the table.
During the 25th Inter-Parliamentary Meeting on renewable energy at the Belgian House of Representatives, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson made a direct call to national governments: adopt the EU’s permitting rules, particularly the principle of “Overriding Public Interest” (OPI). His message was clear—countries that put these rules into law are seeing real progress.
Permitting is one of the biggest roadblocks in the development of onshore wind. While building a wind farm can take just one year, the paperwork and legal challenges can drag on for five or more. This delay isn’t just a bureaucratic headache—it’s a major obstacle to hitting the EU’s clean energy targets.
Giles Dickson pointed to Germany as a working example. It’s one of the few EU countries that fully embedded OPI into its national legislation. The result? Permitting authorities have more confidence to greenlight projects, and there’s less legal resistance from the courts. The data backs it up—Germany approved 15 gigawatts of new onshore wind capacity in 2024, seven times more than it managed just five years ago.
So what’s stopping others? According to Dickson, it’s not a lack of understanding but political hesitation. “Just put the 3 words ‘overriding public interest’ in their laws and make sure the courts apply them,” he said.
The stakes are high, especially for sectors like maritime transport, breakbulk, and project logistics, which are increasingly tied to renewable energy infrastructure. Every delay in wind power development trickles down—slowing demand for specialized shipping, port handling, and oversized cargo logistics.
As global supply chains shift to support energy transition, logistics professionals are watching policy developments like this closely. The industry needs certainty, not red tape. If countries want to attract investment and stay competitive in renewable projects, smoothing out the permitting process isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.
