2012JRC Wind Status Report
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2012 JRC wind status report Technology, market and economic aspects of wind energy in Europe Roberto Lacal Arántegui, main author. Teodora Corsatea and Kiti Suomalainen, contributing authors. 2012 Report EUR 25647 EN Cover picture: Sunset at a wind farm. © Jos Beurskens. European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Energy and Transport Contact information Roberto Lacal Arántegui Address: Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport. Westerduinweg 3, NL-1755 LE Petten, The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] Tel.: +31 224 56 53 90 Fax: +31 224 56 56 16 http://iet.jrc.ec.europa.eu http://www.jrc.ec.europa.eu This publication is a Reference Report by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Legal Notice Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of this publication. 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Printed in the Netherlands Joint Research Centre 2012 Wind Status Report Table of content Abbreviations and acronyms: ..................................................................................................................... 6 Executive summary ...................................................................................................................................... 7 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 8 2. Technology status................................................................................................................................ 9 2.1. Current wind energy state-of-the-art ....................................................................................... 9 2.1.1. Wind turbine design .......................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2. Drive train designs – exciting new concepts ............................................................... 11 2.1.3. Materials ........................................................................................................................... 12 2.2. Technological developments .................................................................................................. 14 2.2.1. Blades ................................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.2. Gearboxes ........................................................................................................................ 17 2.2.3. Electricity generators ...................................................................................................... 18 2.2.4. Power converters ............................................................................................................ 20 2.2.5. Towers .............................................................................................................................. 20 2.2.6. Offshore wind: farther and deeper ............................................................................... 21 2.2.7. Offshore support structures. ......................................................................................... 22 2.3. Current challenges and possible bottlenecks ....................................................................... 24 2.3.1. Technology challenges ................................................................................................... 24 2.3.2. Project management challenges .................................................................................... 24 2.3.3. Challenges of the context ............................................................................................... 25 2.4. Future technological evolution ............................................................................................... 27 2.4.1. Technology ....................................................................................................................... 27 2.4.2. Project management ....................................................................................................... 28 2.4.3. The context ...................................................................................................................... 29 2.5. Role of European industry on global technology and innovation .................................... 29 2.5.1. European actors and institutions. ................................................................................. 29 2.5.2. International competition. ............................................................................................. 31 2.5.3. Interactions between actors and environmental policies. ......................................... 31 3. Wind energy market status ............................................................................................................... 33 3.1. Global market status ................................................................................................................ 34 3.1.1. The European Union and beyond in Europe ............................................................. 34 3.1.2. China ................................................................................................................................. 35 3.1.3. North America ................................................................................................................ 35 3.1.4. Rest of the world ............................................................................................................. 35 3.2. Analysis and projections .......................................................................................................... 36 3.3. Turbine manufacturer’s market .............................................................................................. 37 3.4. Repowering old wind farms .................................................................................................... 39 3.5. Industrial strategies .................................................................................................................. 39 3.6. Deployment scenarios ............................................................................................................. 42 3 Joint Research Centre 2012 Wind Status Report 4. Economic impacts of wind energy ................................................................................................. 45 4.1. Economic indicators ................................................................................................................ 45 4.2. Economic aspects .................................................................................................................... 46 4.2.1. Turbine costs ................................................................................................................... 46 4.2.2. Capital expenditure (CapEx) ......................................................................................... 48 4.2.3. Operational expenditure (OpEx) - general ................................................................. 50 4.2.4. Operational expenditure (OpEx) - offshore ............................................................... 50 4.2.5. Technology learning ....................................................................................................... 52 4.2.6. Integration in the electricity system .............................................................................. 53 4.2.7. Energy produced ............................................................................................................. 53 4.2.8. Cost of energy .................................................................................................................. 54 4.2.9. Approaches to reducing the cost of energy ................................................................ 56 4.2.10. Conclusion on costs ........................................................................................................ 57 4.3. Other economic impacts ......................................................................................................... 58 4.3.1. Wind and electricity prices ............................................................................................. 58 4.3.2. Feed-in-tariffs .................................................................................................................. 59 4.3.3. Employment impacts ...................................................................................................... 60 5. References: ......................................................................................................................................... 62 4 Joint Research Centre 2012 Wind Status Report Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the internal and external experts who reviewed the draft report and contributed