- Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy held its 2022 Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting today in Bilbao.
- At the meeting, shareholders approved the ratification of the recent appointment of the CEO, Jochen Eickholt, as an executive director.
- The company is working under new leadership to return to profitability and deliver the full potential of wind power necessary to address the challenges of the climate emergency and energy security.
The meeting took place at a time of turbulence for both the industry and the company as recentmonths have brought significant supply chain disruption and higher logistic and material costs.
Business turnaround essential to respond to the climate emergency
Despite the current challenges, however, the long-term outlook for the company remains promising. Renewable energy remains a key solution to the challenge of decarbonizing economies and installations of wind turbines are expected to grow strongly to meet demand. In addition, countries seeking to develop an energy supply independent of geopolitical disruption are increasingly looking to renewable sources of energy such as wind.
New Siemens Gamesa CEO, Jochen Eickholt, ratified as executive director to undertake business turnaround. Image credit: Siemens Gamesa
Addressing shareholders for the first time as CEO, Jochen Eickholt highlighted the strong potential of wind energy: “The world needs to install much more wind energy and at a faster rate than in previous decades. It is our duty to embrace that challenge and strive to extract the most from wind energy in the years ahead. I believe we have the right mix of people and technology at Siemens Gamesa to help us do just that.”
The meeting took place in a context of rising commitments to reduce emissions. During the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow last year, the global community re-emphasized its commitment to addressing carbon emissions, with more than 150 nations submitting new plans to further cut their emissions. However, there is growing concern that, with the current level of installations, governments will fall short of their targets.
To face this challenge, Miguel Ángel López, Chairman of the Board of Directors, called for action to accelerate the pace of wind installation: “Unlocking the industry’s potential requires action in a few key areas, such as significant acceleration and simplification of permitting processes and simplification of the process of grid expansion.” Miguel Ángel López also noted the need to redesign the price-based auction mechanism as it “fails to recognize the enormous financial effort being made in research and development and the additional value that our industry provides.”
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
