THE EUROPEAN WIND INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

February 2012 Volume 31/No 1

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91_554_Nordex_AZ_N117_210x297_PowEnerSol_GB.indd 1 30.08.2011 11:17:11 Uhr | contents |

THE EUROPEAN WIND INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

February 2012 Volume 31/No 1

letter from the editor 5 Welcome to 2012 offshore wind in 2011 6 wind news 10 brussels briefi ng 11 2050 energy roadmap 13 interview 14 Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark mini focus 18 A sector in need of support? EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 reviewed 22 The Dutch touch CEO interviews 25 CEOs from Siemens and E.ON focus 30 Building bridges for our electricity Explaining the “infrastructure package” opinion 37 If you build it, they will come best of blog 38 Keeping up with the blog italy trip 42 The Mediterranean island that went for wind wind worker 44 Lars Thaaning Pedersen, DONG Energy Giuseppe di Marzio, Enel Green Power EWEA 2012 preview 48 Powered by innovation: the EWEA 2012 Annual Event country focus 52 A closer look at Germany... EWEA news 54 Wind Directions is published fi ve times a year. The contents do not necessarily refl ect the views and policy of EWEA. EWEA welcomes new members 56

Publisher: Christian Kjaer the last word 58 Editor: Sarah Azau Ana Aguado Cornago, CEO of Friends of the Supergrid Writers: Sarah Azau, Chris Rose, Zoë Casey Design & production: www.inextremis.be Cover photo: Hemera Additional design and photographic input: Jesus Quesada SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE

DO THE SURVEY AND WIN: www.ewea.org/wdsurvey

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 3

| letter from the editor |

By Sarah Azau Editor

Welcome to 2012

fter the relative peace of the Christmas help its chances of getting suitable fi nancing. Read A break, we are starting 2012 with a all about it on p. 18. bumper issue of Wind Directions, refl ecting The current state of the offshore wind energy everything that went on in November and industry can also be gleaned from EWEA’s just-pub- December last year. lished 2011 statistics. Using detailed graphs and November was frantic with preparations charts, we explore how much capacity was built and for the EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 event in grid-connected last year, and examine the overall Amsterdam, which ran from 30 November to 1 trends. See p. 7. December. Participation was even higher than Our main Focus this issue is on a different, expected, with over 8,200 attendees, business but equally relevant topic for the industry: grids was done, experience was shared and new re- and the single energy market. With the European search explored. EWEA launched a report show- Commission’s new draft legislation on energy infra- ing the huge amount of offshore wind projects structure, released last autumn, the next steps are in Europe’s seas. Meanwhile I took a boat trip likely to take shape over the few months to come, to visit an offshore wind farm and report back and EWEA’s campaign refl ects the urgency of acting via a live video link to the event’s opening ses- quickly. Zoë Casey takes us through the topic on p. sion – my fi rst onscreen experience! Chris Rose 30, and on p. 37 Wind Directions’ new columnist, gives an overview of the event on p. 22. Junior Isles, gives us his take on the question. OFFSHORE 2011 was also a great opportu- December was also particularly busy for those nity to speak to some of the big names in the of us following EU legislation for the energy industry offshore wind energy industry. Chris, Zoë Casey because of the much anticipated release of the and I spoke to former Danish Prime Minister European Commission’s Energy Roadmap 2050. Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (p. 14) on the Lindoe The name may not be particularly exciting, but the Offshore Renewables Centre he chairs, and to document will be important for the development of CEOs from E.ON Climate & Renewables and the industry: I explain why on p. 13. Siemens Wind Power on the current situation of offshore wind energy and its prospects, with A day out particular reference to the ongoing fi nancing It’s always good to get out of the offi ce to see real squeeze. wind farms, and my most recent trip was a chance to do just that in Sardinia, Italy. See p. 42. And for Getting to the grids a further taste of real lives in the industry, read the The thorny issue of fi nancing of offshore wind Wind Worker interviews on p. 44. projects is also the topic covered in this issue’s Finally, there is always another EWEA event just Mini-Focus. I spoke to a range of experts from around the corner. EWEA 2012, taking place in banks, consultancies and private equity compa- Copenhagen, is just two months away and plans nies to gauge their views on the current crisis, are taking shape. You can fi nd out what’s in store the outlook, and what the industry can do to on p. 48. ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 5 om offshore wind in 2011 com

| | ia. ol tol to o fo : to o Ph Offshore wind in 2011: market stays stable, with UK still in the lead By Sarah Azau

• New EWEA fi gures for the offshore wind energy sector in Share of new offshore wind capacity in Europe per country in 2011 2011 • 235 new offshore turbines online, equalling 866 MW of Denmark Portugal 3.60 MW 2 MW new capacity 0% 0% Germany • 1,371 offshore turbines now online in Europe, equalling 108.30 MW 13% 3,813 MW of capacity • Capacity set to increase by over 60%

ast year, 235 turbines were connected to the Lelectricity grid in nine offshore wind farms, EWEA’s recently published 2011 statistics reveal. Worth around €2.4 billion, they take the total installed capacity to 3,813 MW, providing the UK equivalent of 0.4% of the EU’s electricity. 752.45 MW 87% The wind farms built last year were larger and in deeper waters than those built in 2010, although they were closer to shore. The vast majority of new capacity – 87% of the total, with 750 MW - was installed in

Installed capacity: annual and cumulative share by country at end 2011 (MW)

1000 4500

900 4000

800 3500

700 3000 600 (MW) 2500 (MW) 500 2000 400

1500 300

200 1000

100 500

0 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 1993 1995 1996 1998 1999 1994 2001 2007 2011 1997 2010

annual (left axis) cumulative (right axis)

6 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | offshore wind in 2011 |

Installed capacity: cumulative share by Wind turbine manufacturers: share of country at end 2011 (MW) 2011 installations (MW)

Sweden Finland Ireland BARD GE 163.7 MW 26.3 MW 25.2 MW 17 14 4% 1% 1% 1% 1% Areva Belgium Norway WinWind 6 195 MW 2.3 MW 0% 18 0% 5% 1% Portugal Other Germany 2 MW 49 200.3 MW 0% Repower 4% 5% 36 Netherlands 3% 246.8 MW 6%

Siemens U.K. Vestas 698 2,093.7 MW Denmark 533 51% 55% 39% 857.3 MW 23%

UK waters. In a far-off second place was Developers: share of new offshore wind Germany with 108 MW (13%) and a 3.6 MW capacity in 2011 (total 798.32 MW) turbine in Danish seas. There are nine more offshore wind farms Statoil Enovos Inovcapital LDA currently under construction, and they will 19.80 MW 4.50 MW 0.5 MW 0.5 MW bring online an additional 2,375 MW – 2% 1% 0% 0% increasing the EU’s total installed offshore Statkraft Principle Power EDP 19.80 MW 0.5 MW 0.5 MW wind power capacity by 62%. 2% 0% 0% 1 In 2011 non-recourse debt fi nancing for ENBW 48.30 MW offshore wind farms increased by 40% on the 6% previous year, from €1.46 billion to €2.05 BARD billion. Three multilateral fi nance institutions 55.50 MW 7% now support non-recourse lending to the off- SSE shore sector. The European Investment Bank 245.92 MW 28% (EIB) and Danish development bank EKF, Vattenfall 111.65 MW already active in 2010, were joined by the 13% German development bank KfW in 2011. In 2011, more than 3 GW in net planned offshore capacity was sold to investors. A Dong RWE 168.08 MW 190.80 MW number of utilities and developers also an- 19% 22% nounced investments in their own projects. DONG Energy has continued to be the most active equity player, both on the acquisition and on the sale side. In terms of manufacturers, Siemens sup- plied 80% of the new offshore capacity in 2011: a total of 693 MW. They were followed Overall, 17 MW less offshore capacity was by REpower with 13% of the annual market installed and grid-connected last year than in and BARD with 7%. 2010. 81 offshore wind turbines which were On the developers’ side, the leaders were put up in 2011 are awaiting grid connection and SSE Renewables with 28% of the annual mar- so are not included in the 2011 fi gures. ket, followed by RWE (22%) and DONG (19%). For more information, see www.ewea.org. ■

1 A non-recourse loan is secured by a pledge of collateral for which the borrower is not personally liable. If the borrower defaults, the lender/issuer can seize the collateral, but no more.

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| wind news |

ANTARCTICA SWEDEN Zero-emissions, wind-powered First offshore wind turbine in expedition to the South Pole Gothenburg harbour On the centenary of the arrival of GE and Göteborg Energi have announced Amundsen and Scott at the South Pole, that the new 4.1 MW turbine will produce Acciona announced that it was launching enough electricity to supply 3,000 an expedition to Antarctica which will dem- Swedish homes per year and avoid onstrate the effi ciency of an eco-effi cient 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, which vehicle as a means of transport and for is equivalent to the emissions of 7,500 taking supplies to the polar regions. cars per year. Acciona said it would be using a This project marks the fi rst commer- special vehicle, the world’s fi rst-ever zero- cial application of GE’s 4.1-113 technolo- emissions, wind-propelled, kite-drawn gy, which was introduced in March, 2011. sled. More information: www.ge.com The expedition team was to travel 3,500 km across Antarctica on board a THE NETHERLANDS sled driven solely by wind harnessed by New 6 MW direct drive offshore massive kites measuring up to 80m2. wind turbine launched More information: www.accionantartida.es/en Siemens Energy launched its new 6 MW direct drive wind turbine at EWEA’s AUSTRALIA recent OFFSHORE 2011 event in Tasmania to have new wind farm Amsterdam. The new SWT-6.0 will be

Vestas has received an order to supply Photo: GWEC available with rotor diameters of 120 56 units of the V90-3.0 MW wind turbine and 154 metres and is designed for the for the Musselroe Wind Farm project to The new electronics components plant most challenging offshore sites. It fea- be constructed in Tasmania, Australia. is notable for its technological sophisti- tures the Siemens direct drive design The order has been placed by Hydro cation and automated assembly lines. with 50% fewer parts than comparable Tasmania, Australia’s largest generator of Moreover, Gamesa this year opened geared wind turbines. renewable electricity. another nacelle assembly facility in the With a towerhead mass of roughly The order scope comprises a wind province of Jilin. 350 tonnes, the SWT-6.0 is the lightest turbine supply, installation and commis- More information: www.gamesacorp.com machine in its class. sioning contract, and a ten-year service More information: www.energy.siemens.com agreement. GERMANY More information: www.vestas.com Vattenfall converts wind energy UNITED KINGDOM to hydrogen gas Application submitted for CHILE Vattenfall is now participating in a unique Solwaybank wind farm in Mainstream buys Goldwind project that allows wind energy to be Scotland turbines for new wind farm stored and converted to hydrogen gas. Renewable energy developers RES Mainstream Renewable Power has pur- The hydrogen can subsequently be used have submitted a planning application chased 23 of Goldwind’s GW87 1.5 MW to generate electricity and heat in power to Dumfries and Galloway Council for wind turbines ahead of constructing its plants or as fuel for cars. The hybrid Solwaybank wind farm. The wind farm fi rst wind farm in Chile. power plant is located 120 kilometres has an approximate capacity of 30 MW The 34.5 MW Negrete Cuel Wind north of Berlin and is the fi rst in Europe. and, if approved, is likely to generate Farm, which will be located in cen- More information: www.vattenfall.com electricity equivalent to the average de- tral Chile, will be 100% owned by mand of more than 17,000 households Mainstream. It is expected to be the fi rst SPAIN – or approximately 25% of the house- non-recourse fi nancing from the China EIB grants a €200 million loan to holds in Dumfries and Galloway. Development Bank to benefi t a wind pro- fi nance investments More information: www.res-group.com ject fully owned by a western buyer. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has More information: www.mainstreamrp.com granted Iberdrola a €200 million loan Consent granted for Strathy to fi nance investments aimed at mod- North wind farm CHINA ernising and strengthening its electricity Scottish Ministers have announced that Control cabinet factory opens in distribution network. EIB Vice-President consent has been granted for SSE’s China Magdalena Álvarez Arza and Iberdrola 76MW wind farm Strathy North, near Gamesa has opened its sixth manufac- Chairman Ignacio Sánchez Galán signed Strathy village, Sutherland. The wind turing plant in China, which is devoted to the agreement in Luxembourg. farm will comprise 33 turbines over the manufacturing of control cabinets. It The EIB loan will support Iberdrola’s an area of around 950 hectares within is located in Tianjin - the company’s main investment programme on its grid in Spain. Strathy North Forest. manufacturing base outside of Europe. More information: www.iberdrola.es More information: www.sse.com ■

10 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | brussels briefi ng |

Investment in harbours crucial for Florence offshore wind Forum

nvestment in ports and their infrastruc- prepare the ports for the offshore wind debates Iture is needed in Europe to ensure the development. smooth development of offshore wind The research note, published by EWEA infrastructure energy, says research published at the with its offshore wind industry group, end of 2011 by EWEA. says that a stable legislative framework package The research says that offshore at EU level post 2020 is crucial to en- wind development should supported sure investment happens. he European electricity by dedicated harbours and based on It examines in detail the state of the Tregulatory forum welcomed strong manufacturing capacity, testing ports and what capacities and criteria the Commission’s draft legisla- facilities, demonstration sites, research they need for offshore wind energy instal- tion on energy infrastructure (the and training facilities. Coordination is lation or operations, and compares the “infrastructure package”) at their required at an EU level with the national port availability in different European recent meeting in December. authorities and industry plans in order to countries. The Forum agreed to start work in 2012 on the identifi ca- tion of projects of common interest (PCI) which, according to the infrastructure package, will be eligible for a total €9.1 billion of EU funds. It will also work on the cost-benefi t analy- sis methodology, which will help rate the PCI. The Forum also discussed the need to develop guidelines and network codes in order to implement the European elec- tricity market by the EU’s target year of 2014, amongst other topics. The next Forum will take place on 22 and 23 May 2012. Photo: Stiftung Offshore WindEnergie Suitable ports are vital for offshore wind developments Insuffi cient EU energy research funding proposed

he funding for non-nuclear en- Included in the €6.5 billion for non- implement the SET-Plan in full have been Tergy R&D proposed in the European nuclear energy is the funding for estimated at €8 billion per year over the Commission’s 2014-2020 budget is noth- the low-carbon technologies of the next 10 years.” ing compared to what the Commission Commission’s Strategic Energy “The EU has missed an opportunity says is necessary to achieve the EU’s Technology Plan (SET-Plan), which in- to make its R&D budget refl ect new 2020 renewables and climate targets. clude wind energy. European priorities.” said Vilma Although EU funds for non-nuclear en- Yet the SET-Plan needs alone – which Radvilaite, EWEA’s Regulatory Affairs ergy R&D double in the budget proposal, include €1.3 billion for wind energy R&D Advisor. She added: “The European they are still only worth 7.5% of the - are more than the entire €6.5 billion Commission is proposing that the EU research budget - €6.5 billion out of the earmarked for non-nuclear energy. EWEA abandons its political commitment to total €87.7 billion. In contrast, nuclear pointed out in its press release that fund the SET-Plan, and risks allowing energy gets €1.8bn for just fi ve years even the European Commission’s own China, South Korea, Japan, India and under the Euratom programme, plus ad- proposal acknowledges the discrepancy, the US to take the lead in renewable ditional funds. stating that “the resources required to energy technology development.”

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 11 | brussels briefi ng |

Increased risks to power system this winter

They put this down to the reduction of the available German power gen- eration following the nuclear crisis in Japan. ENTSO-E’s analysis indicates that if weather conditions are severe, France could require a signifi cant level of imports from neighbouring countries including Germany. However, if both Germany and France face extreme conditions at the same time, they could be unable to assist each other, warns ENTSO-E. The group’s analysis also notes that beyond this winter, to accommodate the Bad winter weather could major changes in generation observed increase the risk of power cuts all over Europe, grid reinforcement is Photo: iStockphoto urgently required. The proposed energy here will be reduced power genera- European transmission system operators infrastructure legislative package will be Ttion reserves available this winter, (ENTSO-E) say in their recently published key to speeding up the approval process particularly if the weather is bad, the winter outlook. for infrastructure, it adds.

Durban climate change agreement gets mixed reactions

fter lengthy and volatile negotiations The press release also said nations Samantha Smith, leader of WWF’s Ain Durban at COP-17 — the United recognise “the urgent need to raise global climate and energy initiative, was Nations climate change conference — a their collective level of ambition to equally blunt. deal of sorts was reached in the early reduce greenhouse gas emissions to “Science tells us that we need to act hours of Sunday 11 December. keep the average global temperature right now – because the extreme weath- Exhausted negotiators were able to rise below two degrees Celsius,” which er, droughts and heat waves caused by hammer together a last-minute climate is the level scientists say must not be climate change will get worse,” Smith agreement that would see both developed exceeded if dangerous climate change said. and developing nations reduce green- is to be prevented. “It is clear today that the man- house gas emissions, caused mostly by Unfortunately, as environmentalists dates of a few political leaders have burning fossil fuels. quickly pointed out, the Durban agree- outweighed the concerns of millions, According to a UN press release, ment does nothing now to deal with leaving people and the natural world we the agreement would see governments the carbon-emissions time bomb that depend on at risk.” adopting a universal legal agreement on grows more destructive each year. Rémi Gruet from EWEA, who at- climate change as soon as possible, but Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace tended the UN talks, was also sceptical not later than 2015. The new agreement International Executive Director, said about the outcome. would not come into effect until 2020. implementing the agreement from 2020 “This is a dramatic failure from In the meantime, the already lacklustre leaves almost no room to increase car- governments to address one of the Kyoto Protocol would be extended by up bon cuts in this decade when scientists two crises the world is currently fac- to fi ve years until the new legally binding say emissions need to peak. ing - one that will have much more agreement is adopted. “Governments departing the UN long term effects than the economic “We have taken crucial steps forward talks should be ashamed,” Naidoo crisis,” he said. “There is a complete for the common good and the global was quoted as saying. “We wonder discrepancy between investments in citizenry today,” said Maite Nkoana- how they will be able to look into the renewable technologies on the ground, Mashabane, South African Minister of eyes of their children and grandchil- and the willingness of decision makers International Relations and Cooperation dren. They have let us down and their to commit themselves. In 2010, more and President of the climate change failure will be measured in the lives investments were made in renewable conference. “I believe that what we have of the poor, the most vulnerable and technologies than in fossil fuels for achieved in Durban will play a central role least responsible for the global climate the fi rst time ever. It is about time that in saving tomorrow, today.” crises.” governments realised this fact.” ■

12 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | EU Roadmap | EU begins to defi ne energy policy up to 2050

n EU communication on energy policy up forward with ambitious binding 2030 targets for re- Ato 2050, published in December, was hotly newable energy. The current EU Council presidency awaited by the renewable energy sector. is held (until 30 June) by Denmark, which is very But what does it say, why is it so important, pro-renewables, so this is in theory a good time to and what impact could it have? Sarah Azau hold the debate. investigates. Anything else important in the Roadmap? What is the aim of the communication? The Roadmap shows that a high renewable energy The communication, the EU’s ‘Energy Roadmap mix would have the same “overall energy system h ch c ich ic i

2050’ aims to set out pathways to an energy sec- costs” as any other decarbonisation or business r dr d edr ed e i tor that is 85% carbon-free (in line with the EU’s as usual scenario. ri r Fr F emissions reduction pledge) by 2050. It does this Despite this, some stories have been published / EA/ EA E W by presenting fi ve different scenarios - known as on the “high costs” of decarbonisation and renewa- EW E o: o the “decarbonisation scenarios” - for how bles, as purportedly shown in the Roadmap. to: to ho h an 85% carbon-free energy mix could look, con- Pho Ph P taining different levels of renewable energy, fossil If the Roadmap shows that all the scenarios have Wind turbines could fuels, nuclear and energy effi ciency. the same system costs, where did these stories provide 49% of EU spring from? electricity in 2050, What is the role of wind energy in the scenarios? Probably from the misleading fi nding in the according to the In all fi ve decarbonisation scenarios – and the ad- Roadmap documents that the scenario with the Commission ditional business as usual scenario - wind energy most renewables gives a higher electricity price produces more electricity than any other power (which is not the same as system costs) than generating technology by 2050. In the decarbonisa- other decarbonisation scenarios after 2030. tion scenarios wind accounts for between 32% and But in fact, until 2030, electricity prices are set 49% of EU power production. to increase just as much under the business-as- usual scenario (with much less renewable energy) How does this affect the wind energy industry? as in the decarbonised scenarios. It is not decar- In March 2011 at its annual event, EWEA launched bonisation or renewables that will cause any price a call for 2030 binding renewables targets. The rises, but the need to invest in replacing ageing idea was to continue an EU policy – currently, power plants and grids. binding 2020 targets - that is working very well The increase post-2030 in electricity prices in driving the industry, but which will run out in in the high-use-of-renewables scenario is the eight years’ time. EWEA called for 2030 targets to result of far-fetched assumptions made in the be included in the Roadmap to ensure investors Commission’s calculations. For example, they as- continued to have confi dence in the sector and the sume offshore wind will cost the same in 2050 as industry could carry on growing. today (but prices are already coming down!), and The Roadmap itself is not very clear on renewa- that 50 nuclear power reactors will be run at 50% bles targets for 2030, referring instead to the capacity (highly unlikely, given the cost of building importance of “2030 milestones.” However the and installing a nuclear reactor!). EA EW

EU Commissioner responsible for energy, Günther Other strange assumptions include oil prices to:

Oettinger, said at the launch of the Roadmap that dropping from over $100 per barrel today to $70 Pho P he expected binding renewable energy targets for per barrel in 2050, and no gas or carbon-capture- 2030 in place by 2014. and-storage infrastructure costs being accounted “With our Roadmap we want to ensure that, for in the next 40 years. for all participants, there should be an interesting In fact, the scenario with the lowest possible discussion on binding targets for renewables by costs and electricity prices would have been the 2030. This should begin now and lead to a deci- one that combined high use of renewables and sion in two years’ time”, he said. high energy effi ciency. But this is missing from the Roadmap. Does that mean there will defi nitely be targets? The Commissioner has certainly given a clear posi- What now? tion, which is a good step forward. What happens The EU Parliament and Council will discuss the Energy Commissioner now is that the European Parliament and Council, Roadmap, take a position on it, and could mandate Oettinger supported 2030 as they take position on the Roadmap text, must the Commission to come forward with legislation binding renewables targets give the Commission a clear mandate to come based on the Roadmap. ■ at a press conference

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 13 | interview |

“Operating a test centre is like climbing a mountain”

Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark and President of the Party of European Socialists, is now Chairman of Lindoe Offshore Renewables Centre (LORC), a Danish organisation that tests and demonstrates technolo- gies for harvesting renewable energy offshore. He shared his views on the prospects for offshore wind energy and the importance of its becoming competitive with Chris Rose.

Could you tell us briefl y building a test rig for nacelles, especially 6 MW about how LORC came to and 7 MW nacelles, where we will conduct inte- be established and why it gration tests. We are in the process of installing is important for the grow- a welding centre which will come into force in ing offshore wind sector? the spring 2012 and part of our activities will be We believe that testing dealing with substructures. For the time being, and demonstration of as a test facility, we employ 20 people. offshore turbines is what can take the industry to Why is testing such an important part of LORC? the next level. It is all Because the major challenge right now for

Photo: EWEA/Bickley about job creation in the offshore wind power is bringing down the costs green offshore sector and LORC was established and increasing reliability and predictability for with the aim of becoming a magnet that can wind power farms out in the sea. It is simply so attract production of turbines, tower and founda- costly to access and repair them, that you need tions to the Lindoe area which is a former, now to make a vast number of tests before you move closed down, shipyard. I think we’ve made sub- the turbines out there into the sea. stantial progress and during the establishment period we will create 2,000 jobs. Is there a typical kind of project conducted at LORC or are a number of totally different projects As a non-profi t organisation, how is LORC funded? going on at any one time? LORC is funded by the founding fathers who are I would say typically we have three types of the biggest wind energy companies — Siemens, tests. One is testing the nacelle. Secondly Vestas, DONG and A.P. Møller-Mærsk, which [testing in] the welding centre which means owns the shipyard and area, and it’s also funded developing brand new technologies which “It is so costly partly by public money from growth initiative could bring down the costs and, third, testing to access funds in Denmark. This means as a test centre substructures. we receive funds of around 40% of the total offshore investments and then as a non-profi t we develop As Chairman, what do you do at LORC and do turbines that new tests to bring down the cost of harvesting you have any priority projects that you are most green energy offshore. interested in? you need to I’m the guy who’s ensuring that all the people make many What kind of facilities does LORC have and how keep their spirit, that we have great fun and the many employees work for the organisation? engagement is strong because operating a test tests before LORC has facilities for educating people dealing centre is like climbing a mountain. You have to you move them with offshore. LORC has developed a knowledge convince industries that a new technique, which centre where we distribute information on off- probably tomorrow will not be profi table, but that into the sea.” shore turbines and new technologies. We will be the day after it will.

14 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | interview |

What percentage of projects conducted at LORC involves the offshore wind industry? Today, in practical terms, it is exclusively the offshore wind industry. Tomorrow, after a couple of years, wave energy will be a next step. But still we Photo: EWEA/Bickley must face the fact that we are in the early stages of offshore wind and there’s a lot of experimenta- tion you need to continue with and it’s not that attractive for [some] investors.

As Prime Minister of Denmark, you saw a huge expansion of wind power. I’m wondering what pan-European lessons can be learned from that experience? I think number one, what we can learn is you must set yourself ambitious targets and stick to them. Number two you must combine targets The former Danish prime minister has seen wind grow massively in his own country and with concrete planning in your country and in tells Chris Rose it can do the same elsewhere the European Union. Number three is you have a documented implementation so industry can grids and, number three, bringing down the service see the targets, this is planning, this is imple- costs for turbines at sea. mentation. And then you need to have long-term fi nancing which is especially important in these What are the largest challenges, in your view, fac- crisis years. ing the offshore wind power industry? The biggest challenge in the next fi ve to ten years What are your thoughts about the offshore wind is that the sector could be the breaker in the sector? markets going against the [fi nancial] crisis. If the This is the most promising sector you could ever sector understands their role I’m sure they could see. I mean if you look at this planet it is blue… take the lead in bringing Europe out of the crisis, that’s water, so if the planet is to survive and as the fi rst mover. we can bring the climate into sustainability and develop energy “You must set How important is it to the off- sources as a true alternative to shore wind sector that costs are oil then it is the sea, respecting yourself ambitious lowered? the sea and using the sea as a targets and stick If you take the competition good friend. If we do that, that between offshore wind energy is the future. Having said that, I to them.” production on the one hand and feel the offshore industry must oil or coal on the other hand, we take some jumps in technology. It’s not just about are still not fully competitive and that’s simply the moving turbines from the countryside to offshore. fact we have to tackle. You need to bring down We need to solve this reliability problem, this the costs. predictability problem and we need to bring down costs. We need to solve the grid problem and the How do you see the offshore wind sector evolving [supply] chain problem. So there are a lot of new between now and 2020? challenges at sea that need to be solved. The goals set by the European Union and de- scribed by EWEA are realistic — getting 40 GW Do you feel that offshore wind power will be able [of offshore wind] by 2020. It’s ambitious, but it is to replicate the success of the onshore wind power possible. sector? Yes, I think so but the pre-condition is of course As a former European politician, how important is that governments and the European Union really it that EU leaders continue promoting wind power give it their priority. as a solution to some of the EU’s most vexing “This is the problems despite the ongoing fi nancial and debt What are the most important technological trends crisis? most promising in the offshore wind industry today? It’s fundamentally important. You can not solve sector you Number one, on substructures - trying to bring the debt problem in Europe without growth and down the costs. Number two, focusing on the [offshore wind] is exactly the key. ■ could ever see.”

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 15 EWEA Events: The Winning Formula

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www.husumwindenergy.com | mini focus | Photo: E.ON A sector in need of support?

Every day newspapers are full of the latest Eurozone crisis – or of the latest attempt by Eurozone heads of state to help tackle the crisis. Originally triggered in autumn 2008, the recession seems to be hitting even harder today, with European countries facing severe austerity measures at best, a risk of bankruptcy at worst. The offshore wind energy industry, with its need for long-term, high project loans, is particularly vulnerable to the current squeeze. In 2010, Wind Directions reported on how the crisis was affecting the sector; today, Sarah Azau takes another look.

n 2010 Tom Murley from private equity fi rm The recent and ongoing instability in the IHgCapital described the economy in Wind Eurozone appears to have hit all sectors Directions as a patient which had just undergone hard, and this includes the offshore wind a serious operation. “It’s like the economy had sector. Offshore wind energy projects require open-heart surgery”, he had said. “It’s out of in- high amounts of long-term fi nancing over 15 “We may be tensive care now, but it will need to spend a long to 20 years, and with the current economic wheeling the time in rehab”. instability, banks are having to pay more for Asked to build on that image today, he says those long-term loans so they are becoming economy with a wry laugh that “Depending on what hap- much more reluctant to offer them (see box back into pens with the Eurozone we may be wheeling it on p. 20 for a more detailed explanation). back into surgery again. 2012 is going to be a dif- Instead, they are preferring shorter loans of surgery again.” fi cult year across all economic sectors”, he adds. up to ten years.

18 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | mini focus |

In a space of weeks turbines and the manufacturers have been willing What is particularly striking is how quickly the pic- to show how their turbines work.” ture can change. At the time of writing (December 2011) there seems to be some consensus that Out of the banking box the situation was better before the summer, but However, where banks do intervene, it is likely to had got worse very quickly since then. be in bigger groups than before. While previously, Marc Schmitz works with renewable energy one or two banks may have fi nanced an offshore projects at Dutch bank Rabobank. project, it is now more likely to be ten or more “The offshore wind sector was going well until banks, so they can split the cost and the risk. August”, he says, speaking at the beginning of “It will be even more complex now because with December, “but since the end of September, 10 banks in one group, and sometimes there are with the Eurocrisis and many European banks in weak banks, there is not full trust”, says Schmitz. Banks could decide to trouble, the whole market has been impacted. However, other fi nancing solutions are opening fi nance only the construc- The risk margin for bank loans has increased up. Institutions like the European Investment Bank tion part of the offshore massively. It’s gone from 1.9% to 2.3%, and the (EIB) or Germany’s state-owned development bank, project increased margin affects your project hugely.” KFW, which have maintained lower borrowing costs

Murley is even more specifi c, saying that than commercial banks, are stepping into the gap. Photo: C-Power lenders in the last six to eight weeks alone have To take the EIB as an example, in 2010 it granted become more selective about the countries they €300 million to fi nance the Belgian Belwind lend to, making the price of project debt higher for offshore wind project, in early 2011 it accorded southern Europe than for northern Europe. an €80 million loan to Germany’s Baltic 1 offshore Does the rapidity of change mean the situation wind farm, and in late 2011 it agreed to provide could get better just as quickly? £150m of funding for the UK’s Thanet offshore “I see it getting worse”, says Murley. He wind farm, to name but a few. believes anything over a 10 year loan is going to Another even newer source of capital are pen- be harder and harder to obtain, and the commer- sion funds such as PensionDanmark, which has cial banks will “be in retreat” for the fi rst half of invested in Danish offshore wind energy. Bouillé 2012, or even the whole year. and Porter see pension funds as having potential “We believe there are very few bank deals to “grow massively” in terms of their contribution going through at the moment”, say Arnaud Bouillé to offshore wind fi nancing. “It will be even and Mark Porter from Ernst & Young, “and we’re “Because the core sponsors don’t have the likely to see a dip in deal closure rates in the next required capital, we expect the EIB or the Green more complex 12 months as the pipeline is re-generated, so the Investment Bank in the UK, or in Germany the now because debt market will be more limited.” KFW to step in”, they add. Moreover, new legislation is coming into effect What is perhaps more positive for the industry there is not full in 2017 which will affect the ways banks calculate is that, no matter when the hoped-for upturn hap- trust between their capital. Known as ‘Basel 3’, it means that pens for the banks, the new offshore wind inves- banks will have to make higher capital reserves tors are likely to remain involved in the sector. the banks.” – that is, set aside more money - for longer term loans, which will already affect the loans being made in 2012. This is likely to further discourage banks from lending long-term. Schmitz says that at Rabobank they have so far lent to seven offshore wind projects. “We will be affected in the end like other Photo: EWEA banks”, he says, “but we are still positive to look to more offshore wind projects. But we will be looking for deals that can be refi nanced, or to fi nance the construction part not the whole thing - we have to fi nd new solutions, to avoid high liquidity costs.” So there is some optimism. Jérôme Guillet, from Green Giraffe Energy Bankers, said during his presentation on fi nancing at EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 that “The good news is that there is enough money in the market today for offshore wind. If you have a good project the money will be there.” Offshore wind projects need long-term loans, but the He added that “The banking market has shown fi nancial crisis means banks are reluctant to lend a real willingness to fi nance projects with new

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 19 | mini focus |

“I’m tempted to say it will be a permanent are going to lend where they’ll make the most change”, remarks Porter. “Once the new stakehold- profi t with the least risk so they’ll favour shorter ers are in, there’s no reason why they wouldn’t stay tenures [the tenure is the duration of the loan, in. And if you have a wider stakeholder group you ed.]. Wind has to provide an attractive proposal do have more fl exibility as a project developer – it’s to lenders. [The industry] can show that wind is always benefi cial to have more stakeholders.” performing and is a good credit risk. The main thing is focusing on performance, on time and on Flaunting one’s assets budget.” In the meantime, what about the industry itself? Banker Schmitz says, “We want good spon- Is there anything it should be doing to help get sors, shareholders and a country that are easy for through these straitened months and improve its offshore wind projects.” Asked what the indus- access to funding as much as possible? try should do, he says “Costs must go down. “The industry has to realise it’s now compet- Currently subsidies are around 150€/MWh for ing for a smaller pool of capital”, says Murley. offshore, and at the end they must go down – it’s “Capital is the constraint, and basically banks too far from the real energy price.” “In a way it’s show-time for the industry”, says Bouillé. “Costs will have to come down and con- struction risks be better managed if this industry is to attract continued policy commitments and the vast amount of capital it requires.” “The industry must communicate what it’s

Photo: EWEA/Luntang doing”, stresses Porter. “It’s important to mes- sage that costs are coming down, that offshore wind energy is a safe investment – and to speak the language of the investors. It’s being done but it has to be done even more to attract the new forms of capital.” Communication – as in so many walks of life – is key. The offshore wind energy industry is now mature enough to have something of a track record which shows that it is a sound investment and that projects are successful. The banks and fi nancial institutions need to be made fully aware of this so that, even in the diffi cult next few months, offshore wind projects can secure fi nanc- ing and the sector can continue to grow. ■ The wind industry must communicate that an A dive into the details offshore project is a good investment. Financing ex- perts shared their views at Sean Klimczak from private equity fi rm 3. Risk. The risk of the borrower not being EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 Blackstone explains the technical details of able to pay back the loan is calculated and project fi nancing. a percentage added on top, representing the risk the bank takes by investing in that How does a loan work? project. A loan is always re-paid plus interest. This interest rate is calculated based on three What’s happening now? elements: The current fi nancing squeeze has par- 1. The ‘London Interbank Offered Rate’ or ticularly affected liquidity. Because banks LIBOR. Based on the interest rates at which are less happy to lend to one another, the banks borrow from each other in the UK; the borrowing costs have spiralled upwards. LIBOR represents the risk-free rate on the And when this is passed on, even a small “It’s important market. percentage increase can have a huge impact 2. Liquidity. The liquidity is the premium that a on the substantial loans needed for an off- to message bank needs to pay above the LIBOR to bor- shore wind energy project. For example, an that offshore row money. A bank lending to a project that increase from 1% to 3% for a loan of €800 charged LIBOR plus the liquidity cost would million adds €16 million extra onto the cost wind costs are break even. of the debt. coming down.”

20 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 EWEA OFFSHORE 2013 The world’s largest offshore wind energy conference and exhibition 19 - 21 November 2013 Frankfurt, Germany

Book your exhibition space now

EWEA OFFSHORE 2013 comes to Frankfurt

As Europe faces the danger of recession one industry is planning massive growth.

The European offshore wind industry is set to more than triple its annual investments over the next decade – creating jobs, manufacturing and construction opportunities in many countries. In 2013, the world’s largest offshore wind power event will take place in Frankfurt, the biggest European fi nancial capital and a truly international business location.

SUPPORTED BY: ORGANISED BY:

Tuesday 19 - Thursday 21 November 2013 - Messe, Frankfurt, Germany | EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 reviewed |

Photo: EWEA/Luntang

The Dutch touch

Were you at EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 in Amsterdam? Chris Rose was, and he summarises some of the news from the event.

he rapidly growing European offshore wind In addition, the sector needs to be smarter at Tsector needs to be bolder, smarter and leaner developing large transmission networks, he said, if it is to meet its vast potential for providing adding it also needs to become leaner by work- increasing demands for electricity while helping to ing together to reduce costs associated with the mitigate climate change. industry. That was the main message at the open- Marchant’s comments set an upbeat tone for ing session of the European Wind Energy the conference that featured discussions about Association’s OFFSHORE 2011 conference and sea-based wind turbines, enhanced grids and pro- exhibition in Amsterdam from 29 November to 1 ject fi nancing as it became clear the industry has “Planned and December. the potential of becoming a driving economic force Ian Marchant, CEO of SSE Renewables and for many European coastal areas. built offshore chair of OFFSHORE 2011, also told attendees Hosted by EWEA, the bi-annual conference was wind farms that the offshore wind industry is growing up and told the more than 141 gigawatts (GW) of offshore now, with 140 GW online, planned or consented, wind energy capacity that is built, under construc- could provide the sector is entering a new phase. Marchant tion, consented, or planned in Europe is enough to 13.1% of said the industry needs to be bolder in creating power 130 million average EU households and pro- jobs, building a viable supply chain, and reducing vide 13.1% of Europe’s total electricity production. Europe’s the time and costs associated with building an An EWEA report said the increased electricity electricity.” offshore wind farm. would also generate a surge of new jobs — close

22 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 reviewed |

to 300,000 in the EU offshore wind energy sector “If you don’t get the costs of wind energy down, “The market by 2030. wind energy will die,” Henrik Stiesdal, of Siemens, is growing and The EWEA report, ‘Wind in our Sails’, added warned. “The ultimate agenda is, of course, to that areas for growth in offshore wind energy get the cost of energy down.” the money is include turbine and turbine component manufac- Attendees also heard that there are large barri- there for it to turing as well as substructures, vessels, electri- ers to achieving a sought-after European super- cal infrastructure including high voltage subsea grid – with interconnections between European continue to cables, and ports. countries and to offshore wind farms in Europe’s grow.” EWEA President Arthouros Zervos told the seas. audience there is massive developer interest in “We don’t have an interconnected European offshore wind energy across Europe. network today, and we don’t have an offshore “Developers, governments and investors realise grid,” Ana Aguado from Friends of the Supergrid that offshore wind energy offers the growth and said. jobs that Europe desperately needs,” Zervos said, “There can be no transition [to a renewable adding the offshore wind energy sector can repli- electricity sector] without transmission,” added cate the success of the onshore wind technology Eddie O’Connor from Mainstream Renewable development, which is now a mainstream source of Power, referring to the signifi cant need for grid power competitive with new coal and gas plants. infrastructure. “However, to ensure this happens,” he said, Another session saw fi ve of offshore wind “EU decision-makers need to set ambitious re- energy’s leading manufacturers – Alstom, Nordex, newable energy targets beyond 2020, invest more Gamesa, Siemens and Vestas – outlining the in research and develop an offshore grid.” benefi ts of their future turbines, with the main Agreeing with Zervos, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, differences lying in the generators (direct drive, former Prime Minister of Denmark, said “gov- hybrid or gear) and in blade length. ernments should be more ambitious with clear “These new turbines have a bigger energy [renewable energy] targets for 2030, fi nancing yield, they are better suited to the sea environ- and planning.” ment and they are more cost effi cient [than In a video presentation, Günther Oettinger, today’s models],” EWEA’s Athanasia Arapogianni, the EU’s Energy Commissioner, noted that the co-chair of the session, said. offshore wind industry has become a major indus- Ports, vessels, turbines and cables are all trial player. vital elements of the supply chain that must be “Offshore wind represents a powerful domestic boosted in the years to come, attendees at a dif- answer to Europe’s energy supply and climate ferent session were told. challenge,” Oettinger said. “The supply chain has to ramp up, but it’s very good at doing that,” said Colin Morgan from All about money Garrad Hassan. Cost cutting and calls for innovation in the indus- He said the overall supply chain will be devel- try were discussed at the opening session of the oped in time to reach 2020 targets, but having three-day conference. a good supply of high voltage subsea cables is Along with others at the event, Jan currently a potential obstacle to this. “We are con- Kjaersgaard, CEO of Siemens wind power, and cerned that these are not being made,” Morgan Mike Winkel, CEO of E.ON climate and renewa- added. bles, hammered home the message that signifi - Speakers told attendees that establishing cant cost reductions in offshore wind energy must thorough health and safety guidelines are a para- be achieved. mount concern for the growing offshore industry. Photo: EWEA/Luntang Photo: EWEA/Luntang EWEA president Arthouros Zervos introduced the new Presenters outline the different turbines of the future report at the opening session

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 23 | EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 reviewed |

“My desire is to do [offshore] wind Cameron said in London he would like pension, parks without hurting people,” said investment and sovereign wealth funds to invest in Alan Chivers, CEO of PMSS, a global large offshore wind farms. consulting fi rm. “I see offshore wind as a signifi cant energy and Chivers said that with the proper industrial opportunity for the UK, and one that I amount of preparation, offshore wind am determined to seize,” Cameron was quoted as farms can be built and operated saying. safely. As an example, he said that OWEZ, the fi rst offshore wind park A record breaker in the Netherlands located about 16 In all, the Amsterdam conference attracted approxi- kilometres from the coast, has not mately 8,200 participants, featured 23 sessions experienced a single major accident and more than 480 exhibitors, making it the larg- in its fi rst six years. est offshore wind energy event ever. Media interest Financing can still be arranged for was also signifi cant: there were at least 250 online expensive offshore wind farm pro- references to the event, three wire agencies and jects despite the ongoing debt crisis, approximately 120 newspapers published stories. bankers, investors and developers Malgosia Bartosik, EWEA’s Membership and taking part in a panel said. Events Director, was pleased with the turnout.

Photo: EWEA/Bickley Sean Klimczak, Managing Director “It’s amazing to go around the exhibition and A sumptuous dinner at a in the Private Equity Group of see people doing deals and making business and 17th century naval museum Blackstone, said he is “relatively optimistic about seeing all the exhibition stands packed,” Bartosik took place on the fi nal the opportunities” to raise money for said, adding everyone seemed posi- evening European offshore wind farms. tive about the future of the offshore Agreeing, Jerome Guillet, of Green “It’s amazing wind sector. Giraffe Energy, said there is enough to go around Hanneke Van Der Werff, who fi nancing money available today works as a programme assistant for the offshore wind sector. “The the exhibition helping to develop a harbour in the market is growing and the money and see people Netherlands, said she appreciated is there for it to continue to grow,” the conference because there were Guillet added. making deals and so many people to discuss different Jorgen Kragh, who focuses on doing business.” aspects of work with. fi nancing wind farms for EKF, the “I think the surroundings [at the Danish Export Credit Agency, de- event] are good,” she said, adding scribed the European offshore market as “boom- she was particularly interested in learning about ing” but said more banks need to get involved in different companies stationed in the Holland fi nancing offshore wind transactions. Pavilion. “There needs to be a lot of banks to close John Uplegger, of a German company that sup- these deals,” Kragh said. plies steel components and does installation work Frank Coenen, CEO of InControl which develops at offshore wind farms, said he got more out of the offshore wind farms, said the sector has to prove conference than he thought he would. to fi nanciers that it can do what it says and deliver “It’s a little bigger and more special than I a project on budget. thought it would be,” he said, adding he made a “It’s a diffi cult world,” Coenen said. “Many lot of contacts at the event. “Most of the people people still fear the construction risks - we have to here are [wind industry] professionals so you can give them trust.” expect professional answers so that’s nice.” Comments from the fi nancing panel members After the conference sessions, participants came two days after British Prime Minister David could enjoy a range of social events. These ranged from the opening reception at the Beurs Business deals were done at the exhibition which runs van Berlage - the former Amsterdam Stock alongside the conference sessions Exchange – to the prestigious conference dinner at Het Scheepvaartmuseum, a storehouse for the “There need Dutch war fl eet dating from 1656 turned museum. to be a lot of As people were leaving Amsterdam, exhibi- tion sales were already open for EWEA’s next banks to close offshore conference which will be held in Frankfurt these offshore in 2013. Fittingly for an event held in a major fi nancing city, much of the focus of that event, to fi nancing be held on 19-21 November, will be on fi nancing deals.” offshore wind energy installations. ■

24 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012

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Coming up in 2012 (to be confi rmed): April - Wind energy and the economy: the real deal June - The eastern giant: all about China September - It was 30 years ago today: EWEA’s anniversary December - A climate of hope: wind energy and the planet | CEO interviews | Speaking to the CEOs At OFFSHORE 2011, Sarah Azau and Zoë Casey talked to CEOs from two of the biggest companies involved in offshore wind energy to fi nd out their thoughts on fi nancing, costs, technology and other thorny topics.

Jan Kjaersgaard, CEO, Siemens Wind Power

have access to fi nancing. But in the long run, if it turns bad in the banking sector, it could affect us. Onshore wind is more hurt at the moment as developers are affected, but offshore looks good.

Critics say that offshore wind is too expensive. What needs to happen to make it cost effi cient? We need to put proven, strong and reliable and competitive turbines at sea. We need to make sure turbines are well tested and reliable. Today we are launching the 6 MW direct drive turbine machine – the turbine of the future for offshore wind farms at greater depths. It is designed for the most challeng- ing offshore sites. The direct drive design has 50% fewer parts than comparable geared wind turbines and it’s the lightest machine in its class – which boosts lifetime energy output and profi tability. 35-40% of the investment cost in offshore wind lies in the turbines (compared to 80% for onshore) Photo: EWEA/Bickley – the rest is foundations, cables and so on – the industry needs to focus on reducing costs in these Jan Kjaersgaard signs the What motivated you at Siemens to get involved in areas too. declaration on free move- offshore wind? ment of electricity at EWEA In 1991 we built our fi rst offshore Can offshore wind energy replicate OFFSHORE 2011 wind farm – Vindeby – in Danish the success of onshore wind energy? waters. This year [2011, at the time “We need Offshore wind power can replicate of the interview, ed.] is the 20 year to know what the the success of onshore. If you have anniversary of the project – it’s still high wind and large scale projects running fi ne and we’ve learnt a lot. regime is beyond you can compete. But offshore is We made a management decision 2020.” younger than onshore. The fi rst real on the potential of offshore wind project was in 2000 and now we – we wanted to be an early mover. Today we are have 4,000 MW of offshore wind, but we need the clear market leader – more than 50% of all security to develop. Massive investment is needed installed turbines are Siemens. Offshore Siemens in harbours and vessels. And a political long-term have successfully installed more than 700 perspective is needed. We need a political commit- turbines with a combined capacity of more than ment; we need to know what the regime is beyond 2,000 MW. 2020. We see a medium term will – society wants Our decision clearly paid off. We have a very green energy and jobs. strong portfolio including Middelgrunden, Greater Gabbard and the London Array and we work on new At the moment, all but one of the world’s offshore projects every year. We are still projecting to do wind farms are in Europe. Why is this, and which “If it turns bad that – we want to maintain our market leadership. other non-European countries are likely to develop offshore wind farms? How could this affect the in the banking How has the recent fi nancing squeeze affected the European industry? sector, it could offshore wind energy sector and what is happen- The UK, Germany and the North Sea have seen a ing now? lot of development. There is strong development in affect us.” Our current customer basis is utilities which still the pipeline in Germany, a little bit in Belgium and

26 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 |CEO interviews |

seemingly in France. Also potential in Sweden, but they are too big to transport onshore. Size is the the UK and Germany are clear leaders. main challenge. In North America we hope that Cape Wind will be There are also skills shortages – the industry built. The US market for offshore is moderate and is growing at a speed and sustained growth is we hope to see demand in Canada too. Offshore will likely. It’s a challenge for the industry to have have a market in China, Korea and maybe Japan. enough skilled labour. We need to take on young Development outside of Europe will have no people, educate and train them. In our Danish fa- short-term impact on the European wind energy cilities we have 60 different nationalities, we are sector. attracting young people from around the world. Engineering staff are important to our long run What needs to happen at EU level to ensure strategy – we need engineers. the potential of Europe’s offshore sector is fully tapped? If you could pick two or three main trends or Massive R&D investment is needed for large, changes to offshore wind energy technology we competitive machines. €150 million is needed are likely to see in the next ten years or more, for testing facilities in the next two years to test what would they be? the design reliability of 6 MW offshore machines. Turbines will be bigger and there will be a greater focus on reliability and experience. We will see What are the main challenges the manufacturers more large scale projects with hundreds of ma- are facing at the moment? chines leading to economies of scale. There could Grid infrastructure is the main challenge. Only a be a new large scale turbine installed offshore few HVDC cables can be supplied – the industry in the next two years. We will optimise our 6 MW needs to develop this. We also need vessel and turbine and our 3.6 MW machine will remain the harbour facilities. Infrastructure should be built market leader. From 2015 onwards the 6 MW along the shores of Europe to build blades as machine will be the new workhorse.

Mike Winkel, CEO, E.ON Climate and Renewables

What motivated you at E.ON Climate and Renewables to get involved in offshore wind? We started being active in offshore ten years ago, and it started from the perspective that onshore sites were more limited in Europe, and we believed offshore was the right thing to do.

The renewables targets from governments gave Photo: EWEA-Erik Luntang the sector more confi dence, and we see it as a rapidly growing market which provides reasonable returns. At E.ON we have key capabilities as we have onshore experience coming from our traditional utility business - we are used to large-scale projects. Of course what is different is having to go offshore with all the conditions to manage, but the turbine and electric parts are more like what we might do onshore.

How has the recent fi nancing squeeze affected the offshore wind energy sector and what is happen- ing now? We are very committed to investing in offshore, it’s a key part of our investment strategy, and in Mike Winkel believes that investors need to see stability

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 27 | CEO interviews |

“The support fact we’ve decided to spend €2 billion on three other non-European countries are likely to develop scheme is too offshore wind energy projects, in Germany, the UK offshore wind farms? How could this affect the and Sweden that will come online in 2015. European industry? benefi cial and But overall, there is a challenge – and this is There will be other countries but they will wait too far from the true for all renewables. We have the EU’s renew- until Europe has paid for the innovations neces- able energy targets to reach, and that would cost sary! You can see some development beginning real costs.” €50-75 billion per year: the utili- in Asia - Korea for example - and ties can’t fi nance that. some in the US, but I would We need new types of inves- “If you go and visit assume they will be patient and tors, we see tendencies, pension see what happens in Europe fi ve funds, companies, who have fund- offshore wind energy years from now. ing available, looking for safe har- factories you still can bours to invest in - we can show How does the status of the off- that renewables and offshore wind fi nd manufacturing shore wind supply chain look to are a safe harbour. rather than you? What needs to be done? Investors want to see stabil- In terms of turbines, we are ity – they need a clear stable industrialisation.” seeing suppliers re-entering framework from governments: we offshore market, this is good need a reasonable support scheme, at the mo- news. We can see suppliers starting to scale ment it’s too benefi cial and too far from the real up to six, or even 10 MW turbines. We are get- costs, we shouldn’t ask for unrealistic support ting ready to address the offshore segment. I schemes. Instead, we need stability, we have to have most concerns about cabling capabilities work with governments to show how subsidies and equipment. I have the feeling that we are can be reduced over time. We need a framework not where we have to be. I have the feeling ca- for investors plus a commitment from industry to bling is a specifi c challenge, especially cabling drive costs down. equipment and manufacturing capacity. Industry must fi nd the right balance between Grids are also crucial. When TenneT [the competition and cooperation. More competition German transmission system operator, ed.] an- will bring wind turbine costs down but at same nounced there would be problems beyond 2015 time we need to cooperate more with suppliers this will signifi cantly slow down growth. The and innovate together. We need to move more transmission system operator and politicians into industrialisation – if you go and visit offshore have to sit together to fi nd a solution. We need wind energy factories you still can fi nd manufac- the EU to provide stable framework and a regula- turing rather than industrialisation. If you look at tion on remuneration regulation, but we have to the motor industry, they have production concepts solve this at national level with a harmonised not hand-craft components. framework, and harmonisation of the incentive scheme for the TSO. Can offshore wind energy replicate the success of onshore wind energy? If you could pick two or three main trends or I think it can. I hear many concerns about the changes to offshore wind energy technology we “Other expense of offshore wind, but these are the same are likely to see in the next ten years or more, concerns I heard about onshore ten years ago. I what would they be? countries think we must keep in mind that offshore is differ- In the next fi ve or six years, the tendency will get into ent in some ways and what makes it more compli- will be to further scale up turbines, but the cated is the fact of going offshore. However, the effi ciency gains are not certain – it looks offshore but big advantage of offshore wind energy is that you promising, but how much will these changes they will wait can scale up from the beginning. Only in the last cost and how much can they deliver? We need three to four years have we seen large scale also in the next years some innovations on until Europe onshore wind farms, but with offshore we already the foundation side to reduce steel content, has paid for the started at this size. to make foundations more cost effective, and since we have projects 40 km from shore, at a innovations!” At the moment, all but one of the world’s offshore depth of 40m, we need innovations on fl oating wind farms are in Europe. Why is this, and which foundations. ■

28 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 Free movement of electricity

Twenty fi ve years after the Single European Act, Europe urgently needs greater freedom of movement in electricity: a single internal power market and a network infrastructure to facilitate it.

A single electricity market will increase competition, improve security of supply, help deliver climate goals and integrate modern energy technologies including renewables.

Whilst development of a single power market is progressing, development of the infrastructure urgently needs a very major boost. To bring freedom of movement to and enhance cross-border trade in Europe’s electricity, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers must:

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More information www.freedomforelectricity.eu | focus |

Building bridges for our electricity Photo: Hemera

One of the crucial steps for the continued growth of wind energy over the next few years is to ensure that Europe’s power grid and energy market are developed. Without that, no matter how many tur- bines the industry puts up, the amount of wind power on the system will stay the same. It’s a techni- cal issue, but one that is understandable and essential for the industry. Zoë Casey fi nds out more.

urope is committed to 20% renewable energy locations, electricity has an even greater battle Eby 2020 and, according to EWEA’s analysis to travel from some sources to demand. What is of the EU Member States’ renewable energy more, electricity faces an uphill struggle to travel action plans published in January 2011, the EU between EU countries since there is no single will exceed this target by 0.7%. When it comes to market for electricity in Europe, and very limited electricity, if all Member State plans are correct, infrastructure to carry it across borders. one-third of the EU’s electricity demand will be Throughout Europe there is a huge need for met by renewable energy by 2020. But inade- massive investment in electricity grids – not only quate electricity grids and an incomplete electric- because of renewables but also because the sys- ity market could hold back the EU’s goals. tem is ageing and demand for electricity is rising. Some of the windiest conditions – and best The whole system must be re-vamped – along- electricity generating opportunities - are found side a rethink of the rules surrounding Europe’s out at sea or in remote on-land spots. But if electricity markets - to meet our 2020 targets and we, as people with cars and boats to transport to take the whole of Europe to a green electricity us, struggle to get to Europe’s more isolated future.

30 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | focus | Some of the windiest places are at sea

Photo: iStockphoto – will roughly double the level of interconnection, it will still not exceed 6%, which is still well below the EU target of 10% agreed as early as 2002 at the Barcelona European Council”, he said. Scandinavian countries, on the other hand, benefi t from grid reinforcements, better inter- regional cooperation and stronger political will on improving electricity infrastructure, Wilczek said. Electricity grids will also need to cope with rising demand, the increasing electrifi cation of energy as more renewables come online, and changing demand and supply patterns. In May 2011 Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for energy, stated that “Europe’s current energy infrastructure is ageing and is not prepared for these future challenges.” In fact, the European Commission estimates that around 45,000 km of new or upgraded lines will be needed over the next ten years. “Without secure, intelligent and sustainable energy networks we cannot meet our energy and climate targets in Europe. With the horizon of the next decades our energy system, notably thanks to technological progress, will go through a deep transformation process, with huge challenges, but also huge opportunities in the way we generate, A case of gridlock? transport, distribute and consume electricity,” Today’s electricity grids in Europe are still largely Oettinger said. designed around national boundaries – and long Electricity blackouts are possibly the great- before the age of EU-wide climate change and est fear in people’s minds. In November 2006 renewable energy objectives - meaning they are a blackout, which hit several EU countries from largely tailored to the needs of polluting fossil fuel Austria to Spain, left around 15 million people in plants. the dark. And these dark patches are costly: for Across Europe there are electricity bottlenecks a country like Germany, it is estimated that a full with some countries worse than others. Paul blackout would cost around €500 million per hour. Wilczek, EWEA’s regulatory affairs advisor on grids Cross-border interconnections are critical for and the electricity market, said that Germany is a security of supply and, crucially, on lowering the “showcase” for electricity “congestion” – meaning risks and costs of disruptions such as black-outs. electricity gets “stuck” on one place either in the Fernandez Perez said that in January 2010 the country or on its borders because of a power grid Spain-France interconnection helped reduce the that’s unable to handle those amounts of power - effects of cyclone Klaus: “due to severe prob- leading to wasted electricity. lems in the French network, consumers in the In Spain, José Carlos Fernandez Perez from southwest and southeast of France were supplied Red Eléctrica de España – Spain’s transmission exclusively from Spain for some hours,” he said. system operator (TSO) - said that at 3.6% Spain Recent years have also seen huge energy-re- has “one of the lowest interconnection ratios in lated disasters. Referring to the oil spill disaster the European Union” and the main bottleneck in the Gulf of Mexico and the catastrophic nuclear is between France and Spain. “Even though the accident at Fukushima in Japan, Oettinger said: new interconnection between France and Spain – “recent events make it the more compelling to which is expected to be commissioned by 2014 address the energy infrastructure challenges…

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 31 | focus |

because it takes a long time to overturn existing infrastructure and reorient our patterns of energy use, we must redouble our efforts today.” Susanne Nies from Eurelectric – the EU asso- ciation of the electricity industry in Europe - said simply: “The main shortcoming is that [the EU’s power grids] are no longer fi t for purpose”. For renewables in particular, grid reinforce- ments and cross-border electricity exchanges would allow surplus renewable electricity to be spread wider through the national grid and/ or exported, removing the need to turn off wind Scandinavian countries like farms in times of high production. Inter-EU trade Sweden are ahead of the in electricity would also boost competition in game for electricity trade the electricity sector with the ultimate effect of and interconnections pushing out expensive polluting technologies and reducing power prices for the consumer as the benefi ts of increased competition trickle down. trade, Wilczek said. A internal market in electric- When it comes to offshore wind energy, new ity would mean that when the grids are there, grids must be built from scratch to plug offshore electricity is traded and used in an effi cient way, wind farms into the grid and unleash the power he said. It would mean we had better energy of offshore wind. EWEA’s offshore report pub- security – as we would be have greater access lished in November last year outlined that there to more sources of energy – and allow greater are 3 GW of offshore wind energy already up and amounts of renewable energy onto the system, running, but a massive 141 GW of projects are which would boost a European industry and help being planned in European waters. A separate reduce carbon emissions. report, presenting the fi ndings of the EU-funded Christian Kjaer, EWEA’s CEO, said it’s now time OffshoreGrid project, was published in October to develop such a single market: “In 1986 - a last year, focusing on building an offshore grid in whole generation ago - political leaders signed a the North and Baltic Seas. Offshore wind could visionary piece of legislation opening Europe up generate more than 500 TWh per year by 2030, to the free movement of goods, services, people enough electricity to meet 15% of Europe’s yearly and capital. It is now time for the EU’s current electricity consumption, the report found. policy makers to be just as courageous and add But it’s not just the lack of infrastructure, it’s a fi fth freedom: the free movement of electricity also the cumbersome and lengthy permitting throughout the EU.” procedures and the lack of public perception on For Eurelectric, too, grids must be built in the need for electricity grids that order to achieve a single market for electricity in n is an issue, Wilczek said. Greater Europe. “The completion of the internal electricity public awareness should be markets cannot happen in the absence of greater Bianchi cultivated on the need for new interconnections between Member States, and in EA/ E

W electricity grids and this takes an the presence of fragmented wholesale markets. EW E : o: o to t effort on the part of the policy “Creating a single electricity market is the only o ho h

Ph P makers, especially communicat- way forward to boost competition and therefore ing the need for grids to commu- allow consumers to benefi t as a result of the nities that would be affected, he most effi cient and competitive prices. A single added. electricity market creates the ability for any market participant (including renewable energy A closer look at electricity promoters) to sell their power across national markets borders”, Eurelectric said. In Europe there is no single mar- The European Commission has stated it wants ket for electricity. Instead there to complete the internal market for electricity by are multiple national markets 2014 - and that by 2015 no EU Member State for electricity, and the amount of should be isolated from the electricity network electricity traded on those mar- - but with the current insuffi ciency of the intercon- kets is still very low - a situation nections between Member States and with the which hinders a more thorough existing fragmented market, this is like to be a Paul Wilczek explains why integration of the various electricity markets. tough challenge. it is important to be able We need market rules that allow market Ana Aguado, CEO of Friends of the Supergrid, a to trade electricity integration across Europe and cross-border group of companies which are working to achieve

32 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | focus |

was also established. The organisation brought together six pre-existing transmission system operators into one European body. Part of ENTSO- E’s task has been to develop a ten year “network development plan” which acknowledges the fact that “large grid investments must be undertaken Photo: EWEA/Luntang at a quicker pace than during the last years so as to achieve the contemplated EU 2020 targets.” ENTSO-E is also developing a work programme to plan for the grid of 2050, and says it intends to take a lead role in planning for a pan-European supergrid. One of the fi rst people to talk about the concept of a supergrid was Eddie O’Connor, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Power. He defi nes the

Photo: EWEA/Bickley supergrid as “an electricity transmission system, Eddie O’Connor was one of mainly based on direct current, designed to facili- the fi rst to moot the idea a fully Europe- and offshore-wide power grid, tate large-scale sustainable power generation in of a Europe-wide power thinks the 2014 target is unrealistic. There is sim- remote areas for transmission to centres of con- grid, and coined the name ply not the grid infrastructure in place to achieve sumption, one of whose fundamental attributes ‘supergrid’ this, she said. Friends of the Supergrid say that in will be the enhancement of the market in electric- the future, electricity grids will no longer be seen ity”. It will create security of supply in Europe and as a national resource, “they will become interna- will reduce overall electricity to consumers, he tional corridors of trade,” the group says. says. The EU’s Third Energy Package – which means Time for change that legally no large power company can own both EU objectives, fi ghting climate change, heighten- the grid and the power generation capacity - did ing energy security and improving competition in also attempt to open up the electricity sector to the electricity market are the increasingly strong competition, as a fi rst step towards a European forces for change. Moreover, Europe is already market for electricity, Wilczek said. However, developing its renewables and fast, with wind national incumbents still prevail, making it diffi cult leading the fi eld for all new power installations in for smaller players and hence lowering the oppor- 2008 and 2009. For more renewables to come tunities for competition. online at the pace needed to meet Europe’s But, says Eurelectric, “it is now time to give a climate and energy objectives, the grid must be stronger push by eliminating hurdles like over- upgraded and extended, and the European elec- complicated and slow permitting procedures and tricity market must now play catch-up. regulatory frameworks that are unable to cope Europe is at an “unprecedented” energy cross- with externalities such as benefi ts from invest- roads, Eurelectric says. ment in one country being enjoyed in another “Investments in grid infrastructure need to be country.” increased as a matter of urgency. Achieving the A bigger leap forward was made last autumn policy targets for renewable power generation when the European Commission published propos- or completion of the internal market requires a als in its energy infrastructure package that do more robust, extensive and integrated electricity pave the way to grid improvements. In short, the grid, capable of handling larger shares of variable proposal prioritises infrastructure projects that renewables or greater electricity trading across have an impact on two or more countries, includ- different markets. The EU doesn’t need to foster ing a European offshore grid in the North Sea. It grid development for the sake of it. Rather, grids also looks at permitting procedures and creating a are needed to accompany the EU on its pathway ‘one stop shop’ at national level for planners. For towards a single, integrated electricity market in in-depth analysis of the European Commission’s which a large share of generation comes from energy infrastructure package, turn to p. 35. renewables and innovative energy technologies,” The plans must be discussed by the European Eurelectric said. Parliament and Council before they become law, At an EU level, plans are afoot. In the and so EWEA believes that now is the time to Commission’s Third Energy Package – adopted encourage decision-makers to take the sort of in 2009 - there is an emphasis on greater grid decision that truly sets Europe on a pathway to development and liberalisation of the energy a renewable electricity future. EWEA’s recently markets. In the same year, the European Network launched campaign (see box on p. 34) aims to of Transmission System Operators, ENTSO-E, encourage exactly that.

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 33 | focus |

Next steps competition in the power sector and eventually The challenge to resolve the gap between achiev- reduce our spiraling power prices. ing the EU’s 2020 renewable energy and climate With the threat of climate change and despite targets, and the missing infrastructure and the continuing cloud of economic gloom, the im- incomplete electricity markets is a tough one. petus for change is there. This change could see Serious investment in grids is needed, alongside Europe powered by 100% renewables by 2050, a commitment to speed up permitting procedures as per the aim of the renewable energy industry. and educating the public on the need and ben- Europe’s leaders are taking small steps in the efi ts of new grids. At the same time a single mar- right direction but let’s hope they have the vision ket in electricity must be created to encourage to take greater strides. ■

Freedom for electricity – the campaign

EWEA (alongside cable manufacturer association Europacable and Eurelectric) is currently running the “Free movement of electricity” campaign. The campaign is based on a statement with 35 associations and companies, so far, calling for a single European electricity market and grid infrastructure. It has been launched to time with discus- sions in the coming months on the European Commission’s infrastructure package at the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. Florian Becker, EWEA’s Campaigns Offi cer, gave Wind Directions a short update:

How successful has the campaign been so far? We have seen a growing number of signatories to our campaign in just a few short months. The statement was published on 22 September in the EU-based newspaper European Voice just as the European Commission was fi nal- ising its proposal. It was signed by 15 organisations: EWEA, Europacable, Eurelectric, BUSNESSEUROPE, European Biomass Association, E3G, European Climate Foundation, European Copper Institute, EGEC, EREC, ESTELA, Friends of the Supergrid, GWEC and the Polish Employers Federation Lewiatan. The statement was published again on 24 November with a total number of 35 supporters, including T&D Europe as well as many of EWEA’s lead sponsors such as Vestas, E.ON renewables, Siemens, SSE renewables, Enercon and GE. At EWEA’s OFFSHORE 2011 event in Amsterdam the

CEOs from Mainstream Renewable Power, Siemens Wind Photo: EWEA/Bickley Power, E.ON Climate & Renewables signed the statement. The former Danish prime minister, CEO of Mainstream Renewable Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former prime minister of Denmark, Power and CEO of Siemens Wind Power support the campaign as well as more than 100 individuals voiced their support for Freedom for electricity by signing the statement. See the - and thereby make possible the completion of a single market statement on p. 29. in electricity with all the benefi ts that fl ow from it.

What is the fi nal goal? Do you expect more people to sign up? It is up to the European Parliament and Council of Ministers Yes! We hope that national wind energy associations, and to determine the fate of this proposal but we believe it is of other national associations and companies, will see the vital importance that the European Union does adopt this benefi ts of this campaign and lend their weight to it. In fact legislation – our campaign is pushing for the proposal to be we’ve asked the national associations to translate the ‘Free adopted in the strongest possible form. movement of electricity’ statement and to present it to Now is the time to demonstrate very clearly the wide range their Energy Ministers by 14 February. We’re looking forward of industries and not-for-profi t organisations that already sup- to their involvement! port action by the European Union to achieve a European grid Campaign website: www.freedomforelectricity.eu

34 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | focus | Explaining the “infrastructure package”

The “infrastructure package”. The name doesn’t exactly give much away, does it? And yet this piece of draft EU legislation – currently being negotiated in the European institutions – is key for the development of the European grid and single energy market, and it will be crucial for the wind energy sector in the next few years. By Sarah Azau

So what is it, what exactly does it say, and why is it moment the permitting procedures can be highly so important? complicated and it can take years to get a single The aim of the draft legislation is to speed up power line approved, built and put in place. The and fi nance new European energy infrastructure paper suggests, for example, establishing a single – which typically refers to the electricity grid and contact authority (“one-stop shop”) per project, gas pipelines. EWEA has been strongly calling for which would deal with all the different administra- a wider, upgraded, strengthened power grid for sev- tive steps, and introducing a time limit for deci- eral years. Why? Because such a grid is necessary sions on new grids and power lines. to help bring electricity from remote power genera- tion centres – such as offshore wind farms, which So the wind energy industry is happy? are miles from anywhere – to the consumers. The proposal is a defi nite step forward, both in In turn, putting more wind energy on the grid terms of the money proposed and the mooted has all the advantages most Wind Directions speeding up of power line approvals. The main readers will be familiar with: increasing the drawback is that it is not yet clear how the €9.1 amounts of CO2-free energy in Europe’s mix and billion for “priority projects” will be split between lowering our dependence on imported fuels, not electricity, gas, and carbon capture and storage to mention boosting a world-leading industry. (CCS) infrastructure. However, CCS will not be ready by 2020, which is the end of the time frame What is contained in the package? of the package. In terms of money, the European Commission EWEA is arguing that a clear priority should be proposes €9.1 billion for “priority projects”. These given to fi nancial support for electricity infrastruc- could include, for example, the interconnector ture, with all the benefi ts for Europe’s energy taking electricity between France and Spain – and security, the internal electricity market therefore ensuring the Iberian Peninsula is well and the climate the ability to put more connected to the rest of the continent - which was renewable energy onto the grid will put on hold for over ten years. have. Although €9.1 may seem peanuts compared to the €200 billion the Commission considers What are the next steps? necessary for energy infrastructure improve- The package is now being negotiated in ments, it is substantially more money than has the European Council and Parliament. It been provided in the past. And more money will should be agreed and adopted in 2012. be leveraged through another tool included in the EWEA has also launched a campaign package: project bonds. for ‘Freedom for electricity’, calling for a single energy market and European power What are the project bonds? grid via a statement with the cable manufac- The project bonds are guarantees from the turer association Europacable and electricity European Commission of part of a loan to an industry body Eurelectric (see p. 34). The infrastructure project. They should reassure and statement is supported by 35 companies incentivise investors in infrastructure projects, and associations so far, and has a dedicat- thereby leveraging far greater amounts of fi nancing. ed website: www.freedomforelectricity.eu ■

Anything else important in the package? Yes: it also contains plans to eliminate unneces- The package should speed up the building of new

sary delays in getting power lines built. At the grid lines Photo: Vestas

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 35 The trainer in safety | opinion |

If you build it, they will come

ew would disagree that a single European load centres of central Europe. Unlike point-to- Fmarket for energy would be benefi cial to the point connections, a Supergrid will involve the region. Some months ago in his fi rst speech as creation of ‘Supernodes’ to collect, integrate and the president of Eurelectric (the association repre- route the renewable energy to the best available senting Europe’s electricity utilities), Fulvio Conti, markets. who is also CEO of Enel, said it was imperative Wind farms, and indeed other renewable to focus on implementing a functioning internal projects, should be sited where they make most market. sense. Due to a nationalistic approach, today “One of the priorities should be meeting the there is a clear mismatch between natural full integration of the market. Without such a resource availability and installed capacity. The step, we will not be able to work in an integrated most installed wind capacity is in Spain, which By Junior Isles environment,” he said. is not the place for wind. Meanwhile, the highest Working in an integrated environment should in installed capacity of solar is in Germany, which theory result in the optimised use of generating clearly does not have as much sun as the south assets, improve security of supply, lower electric- of Spain. ity costs and, importantly, make sure that wind As Philip Lowe, European Commission Director and other renewable generating sources are sited General for Energy put it: “If one is talking beyond in the optimum location. 2020 about a much higher share of renewables, For this to happen the EU and industry must, one can ask a series of questions long-term however, not be half-hearted in its efforts. The about whether the location of some of the invest- European Commission is determined to complete ments in renewables should be looked at more the internal energy market by 2014. Notably, on a wider basis than a national level to achieve in the last 18 months or so, there has been some degree of comparative advantage in the signifi cant coupling of markets in Belgium, France, local weather conditions that determine whether Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands with solar or wind is going to be profi table and the Nordic regional markets, sustainable.” But an internal energy market by 2014 is only At the end of November, an EU-funded report half the story. To have a fully functioning pan- said an offshore electric grid connecting Ireland European market, where wind and other inter- and Britain is feasible within a decade at a likely mittent renewables are fully integrated into the cost of $8.7 billion. This would be part of a system, will call for tremendous investment in much wider EU Supergrid. infrastructure. The feasibility study, backed by the European In its Ten-Year Network Development Plan Regional Development Fund, said an “ambitious published in 2010, the European Network of but achievable” goal would be to develop an Transmission System Operators for Electricity undersea grid capable of transmitting 2.8 GW (ENTSO-E) said within the next fi ve years alone, of renewable generated electricity on a northern Europe’s electricity grid system will need invest- network stretching from Scotland to Northern ment of up to €28 bn. Ireland. A second, southern leg of the nicely To help this happen, in October the European named “ISLES” grid, linking Wales with Ireland, Commission put forward a draft law making it could handle 3.4 GW, it concluded. easier to build and fi nance cross-border power The subsidies required to get the project up lines. Yet still more is needed – the ‘Supergrid’ and running works out to about $1.6 million per concept has to become reality. megawatt of offshore network capacity. The Supergrid is not an extension of existing Clearly a Supergrid will not happen easily or or planned point-to-point HVDC interconnectors cheaply but it is a necessity if we are to optimise between specifi c EU states. Even the aggre- the use of wind and fulfi l the vision of 100% gation of these schemes will not provide the renewables by 2050. Some may say realising the network that will be needed to carry wind power concept is a ‘Field of Dreams’ – but ‘if you build generated in the North Sea, for example, to the it, they will come’. ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 37 | best of blog |

Keeping up with the blog

Do you follow the EWEA blog on www.ewea.org/blog? Updated three to four times a week with a range of articles from several different writers, the blog covers news and opinion on a variety of topics linked to wind energy. Below, blog editor Zoë Casey picks three of her favourite stories from the past couple of months, and explains her choices to Sarah Azau.

Gas is reason for UK energy price rises By Zoë Casey, EWEA

In the UK renewable energies have frequently price which have fed through to energy bills in our

Photo: EWEA/Bickley been blamed in the media for pushing up the cost homes,” he said. of energy paid by the average household. But a Gordon Edge from RenewableUK said: “Over new government report by the UK Committee on the last decade, rising fossil fuel prices have Climate Change looks set to lay that myth to rest pushed up energy bills by more than double the – the report states clearly that gas is behind the amount that low-carbon investment is expected to price hikes. do so in this one.” The average UK household has seen the an- And so now we have credible proof that energy nual energy bill rise from £604 (€719) in 2004 to price rises are not solely the fault of renewable Zoë Casey picks her £1,060 (€1,261) in 2010 – a £455 increase. And energy subsidies as many media would have you favourite blog posts abd nearly two-thirds (64%) of that increase was down believe – in fact it’s just a tiny, tiny fraction of the explains why to rises in the wholesale gas price while just 6.5% price rise unlike the massive surges in the cost is due to subsidies for renewable energy, the of gas. report says. We hope this message will be spread far and David Kennedy, chief executive of the wide in the UK media and beyond! Committee on Climate Change, said the new (Published 15 December 2011) fi ndings should call for an end to the alarmism Zoë says: “This is highly relevant news given over the cost of green energy. Household energy the ongoing misinformation in some areas about bill rises are “because of changes in the gas the effect of renewables on the power bill.”

WindMade label gets going – fi rst Pioneer companies signing up By Angelika Pullen, Communications Director, WindMade

Things are moving fast these days at WindMade – The WindMade Pioneers include some big names the fi rst global consumer label identifying prod- such as Motorola Mobility, Deutsche Bank and ucts and companies made with wind energy. In Bloomberg, and many others. They have all October, we published the fi rst technical standard pledged to source at least 25% of their corporate that sets out the requirements for companies electricity use from wind power, and many of them to use the fi rst wind power consumer label. Four will do much more. weeks later, at an event in New York hosted by Deutsche Bank is just one of many com- the UN Global Compact, we announced the fi rst panies already known for their investments in Pioneer companies that have already signed up to renewable energy, having increased its corporate the programme. use of clean power from seven to 65% over the

38 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | best of blog |

last four years. They believe that clean growth But we believe that this is just the beginning, and is good economics, and WindMade is an impor- interest in WindMade is growing every day. We tant step for them towards market transparency, hope that in the long run, WindMade will substan- according to their Sustainability Offi cer Sabine tially drive corporate investment in wind power by Miltner. creating a consumer pull. As a result, WindMade These thoughts are also mirrored by other will benefi t the entire wind power sector, and it WindMade Pioneers. Motorola hopes that also needs the broad backing of the industry. through the participation in WindMade, the com- At the moment, the WindMade label will be pany will encourage greater use of renewable used at the corporate level (for corporate com- energy sources around the globe. For Bloomberg, munications, marketing etc), but our Technical WindMade provides a tool for the corporate com- Committee is working on a trademark for products munity to demonstrate leadership by committing made with wind power, which will be announced to clean energy development. in 2012. We are also working on a label to certify Interestingly, the WindMade Pioneers come from conferences, trade fairs and other events. a great variety of sectors, including both B2B and For more information on WindMade see B2C companies – from technology to textiles, from www.windmade.org. fi nancial and professional services to advertising. (Published 8 December 2011) They even include a solar energy company which Zoë says: “WindMade is an extremely exciting, produces its solar modules using 100% wind innovative initiative and it’s great to keep abreast power at their manufacturing site in Wales, UK! of the latest developments”.

Wind turbines do not impact human health, Canadian doctor announces By Chris Rose, EWEA

Proponents of wind power in Canada got a huge “Furthermore, all the power generation alterna- boost of confi dence recently when Dr. W. David tives except solar energy are clearly worse than Colby, the acting medical offi cer of the Ontario mu- wind turbines in terms of health and environmen- nicipality of Chatham-Kent, announced there is no tal effects,” said Colby, who has collaborated on scientifi c evidence of a link between wind turbine an international panel review on the topic with sound exposure and health problems. some of the biggest names in audiology and oc- Colby, who is also an associate professor at the cupational health. University of Western Ontario’s Schulich School of “That’s especially true of coal-fi red generating Medicine and Dentistry, said that the topic of wind stations. According to a study prepared for the turbine noise has become complicated because of Ontario government, coal plants cause nearly 250 a huge misinformation campaign. deaths and more than 120,000 illnesses (such “Wind turbines do not produce unique sounds as asthma attacks) each year in the province.” in terms of intensity or characteristics,” Colby said Colby said he was sympathetic to concerns in an article published last week in IPPSO FACTO, a raised by local residents and agrees wind power magazine of the Association of Power Producers of projects should be located to minimise impacts. Ontario. “The sound intensity is virtually the same He added, however, he has no concerns about as what is found in normal urban environments.” wind power noise creating health problems. He said in the article that while wind power “When it comes to energy choices for healthy opponents make claims about sickness caused communities, I am confi dent that we shouldn’t be by turbines, 10 reviews, including investigations by tilting at windmills,” he wrote. Ontario’s chief medical health offi cer, the Australian (Published 8 December 2011) government, the Sierra Club and McMaster Zoë says: “Yet more proof that wind turbines University, have confi rmed there is no direct ad- do not endanger human health – it is important to verse health effects from wind turbines when sited communicate on these issues and be aware of the to comply with Ontario’s noise regulations. latest fi ndings.” ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 39

Discover fi ve reasons to join EWEA

For further information visit www.ewea.org/membership

EWEA is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting the utilisation of wind power in Europe and worldwide Did you know? As an EWEA member you receive 5 key benefi ts:

Access to the largest network of wind industry professionals

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Representation at the highest level | Italy trip |

The Mediterranean island that went for wind

Sarah Azau went to visit.

Photo: ENEL Green Power

he Italian island of Sardinia is more famous The Tula farm now provides 126 million kilowatt Tfor its spectacular beaches – especially those hours of power per year, enough for 100 thou- of the striking Costa Smeralda, or ‘Emerald sand families or half the population of Sassari, Coast’ in the north-east – than for wind turbines. Sardinia’s second city. However, my fi rst trip to the island in October The Tula farm is about a 45 minute drive on wasn’t to laze on the still warm sands, but to fi nd single lane roads from Olbia. The landscape is out more about its growing contribution to Italy’s rolling and a haze of burnt yellow-greens and green energy goals. oranges after the summer, dotted with twisted, Enel Green Power, the Enel Group’s renewables slightly stunted looking trees. (A locally born and company, owns three wind farms in Sardinia, with bred Enel Green Power staff member will later a total capacity of 161 MW. The farms were put explain to me that all Sardinia’s fl ora and fauna is up in 2004, 2005 and 2009. Now, Enel Green smaller than that of the mainland due to its being Power has added an extra 33 MW to the wind an island, a long time cut off from much inter- farm I’ve visited, Tula, making 84 MW in total. change with the world across the water.) We arrive in the village of Tula, which is on a hillside; just outside it are Enel Green Power’s new spare parts workshop and the offi ces of The Tula wind farm overlooks those working at the wind farm. a rolling landscape of greens There to greet us are Roberto Refrigeri, Head and browns of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) for the geographical area, and Alessandro Tiana, who heads up the local O&M team of eleven which works specifi cally on the Sardinian wind farms. This workshop is new, they explain, they have just moved in, and the spare parts are still to be delivered. Once it is functional, the workshop will be extremely practical, situated as it is just ten minutes’ drive from the wind farm. Having had a quick look, we head up the hill from the workshop to the wind farm itself. After a temporary delay where the narrow road is blocked by a fl ock of sheep – rapidly herded to the side –

Photos: ENEL Green Power we reach the top.

42 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | Italy trip |

Alessandro Tiana oversees Roberto Refrigeri explains how the running of the Sardinian local citizens are kept involved wind farms with the wind farm Photo: ENEL Green Power Photo: ENEL Green Power

Tiana explains that the original farm was made possibility to organise events at the farm. The up of 28 wind turbines of 850 kW, which are community sees the advantages of the wind farm, 50 metres high and set 500 metres apart. To for example local employment – three of Tiana’s these were added, at the beginning of 2010, 40 team live in the village. new turbines of 1.5 MW each, making it Enel “There are often jazz concerts organised at the Green Power’s biggest Italian wind farm, although wind farm”, says Tiana, “and recently there was a this record is set to be beaten by their 90 MW ‘night under the stars’ where, with the turbines as Portoscuso wind farm in the south-west corner of a backdrop, astronomers explained all about the the island, 40 MW of which are already online. constellations.” Tiana’s daily work is directly concerned with As we pass through Tula itself, the support the safe and effi cient running of the wind farms. for the wind farms appears to be confi rmed: they He arrives in the offi ce for 7.45 every morning, have put up a sign at the entrance to the villages and starts by switching on the computer to check proudly proclaiming the existence of the wind the state of the three Sardinian wind farms. If farm on their land. ■ there’s something that needs work, he sends some of his team of mechanics out to deal with it. He has the teams rotate so they are not always Il bel paese and renewables targets working on the same tasks and can learn as much as possible. A general inspection is carried Italy has a binding renewables target of 17% by 2020, up from 4.9% in out on the wind farm every six months. 2005. We go and have a look at the control system of However, the country’s National Renewable Energy Action Plan the wind farm. One of the reasons for the siting estimates that the target will be missed by 0.85% of the total objec- of the wind farm here was the grid infrastructure tive. The Italian authorities indicate that this defi cit will be met by using that was already in place nearby, making it easier the co-operation and fl exibility mechanisms provided for by the 2009 to access the power network. Enel has to provide Renewable Energy Directive. the network operator, Terna, with their power out- The Action Plan expects 26.4% of electricity consumption to be met put 24 hours ahead, for fi fteen minutes intervals. by renewables in 2020. Wind power would cover over 5% of all electricity The wind farm is very near the village; what do consumption, with 0.5% from offshore wind farms. the locals think of the dozens of turbines just up The Italian Action Plan forecasts a cumulative installed wind capacity the road? of 12,680 MW by 2020 - of which 680 MW offshore – producing some Refrigeri explains that the company has 20 TWh of electricity. daily contact with the citizens, including wind farm “open days” where they can visit, and the

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 43 | wind worker |

Wind worker

Meeting some of the people who make the European wind industry tick.

Lars Thaaning Pedersen, Senior Director for Operations & Assets Management, DONG Energy

G What does your job involve? something else I joined DONG, and in 2008 I NG N O

DO I’m responsible for all oper- began focusing on offshore. o to: ating assets in our energy What happened in 2008 was that a small group

Pho P portfolio, which means all - under 10 people - was set up to pull together a busi- fi nalised projects: I manage ness case for offshore. At that time we had just one projects from the end of offshore project sanctioned by the supervisory board construction to decom- and the business case looked worse and worse with missioning – from cradle wind turbine rising, so we had to stop the project. to grave. So in terms of So this group was given the task of trying to onshore wind energy that make it profi table again. We had six intense months means Norway, Sweden, to see how to do it and we concluded that we Denmark and Poland, for needed to carry out our projects in a more industrial offshore wind it’s Denmark manner to drive down costs. And that was what we and the UK, and we’re did with three offshore wind projects, including the currently expanding into London Array, and it really worked. Germany. That was one of the most exciting moments Lars Thaaning Pedersen I look after site management, which means the in my career - getting that sanctioning from our engineers and technicians who do maintenance supervisory board to go for the offshore deal with on a daily basis. However, even though they are Siemens on the London Array. Everyone was talk- scattered around, I don’t travel that often to the ing about it, it was in the media, and I was really sites. On each site we have someone who makes proud of being part of it. sure those on site get the support they need – this includes daily planning and trouble shooting, What is a typical day like for you? and overall intra year performance. Even though I’m an engineer and have lots of skills in The other part of what I do is asset manage- my team we work a lot on the operational side, so I ment and operational support. We are rapidly spend quite a lot of time making sure we can deliver developing a group which is trying to optimise the on the quite ambitious plan we have set up. I check value of our assets – for example making sure we we have chosen the right people to develop the or- don’t repeat mistakes, checking if we could do ganisation - you have to take them in and train them maintenance better by looking across the whole and it takes time – we’ve grown 300% in two years. spectrum, not just project by project. I also spend a lot of time making sound invest- ments and bringing down the cost of energy, Who is in your team? which makes projects more attractive for us. Currently I have 270 people, 75 offi ce based and The third main thing is making sure that the the rest are on site. This is includes everyone partnerships run smoothly and that partners are from technicians and engineers to corporate satisfi ed with what we do. I check we are doing fi nance experts. our planning well and reporting well.

How did you come to work in the wind industry? What is your favourite part of the job? I’ve been working in DONG for eight years now, I’m an engineer, so I’m a bit nerdy but I really but I trained as an engineer. In the early 1990s enjoy going onsite, as I’m quite offi ce based. I love I did my studies focusing on climate problems seeing the enthusiastic people there dedicated to and on bringing biomass and energy effi ciency the job and to the industry. I’ve recruited a lot of into power stations. Then after a few years doing people and 90% of them in the interview say not

44 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | wind worker |

only that DONG is exciting and it’s an interesting And your least favourite part? job but also that they’d like to be part of making a Sometimes when you recruit a lot of new people change to the world. That is a big part of it for me. you are unable to convey exactly what has been This is why I studied what I did – it’s very important done before and didn’t work and they try the for me to try and make that difference, and I feel same thing again. That means that sometimes I it through the whole organisation from the CEO to end up doing jobs I shouldn’t be doing and sorting technicians onsite. It’s about more than the money. out mistakes. I don’t enjoy that.

Giuseppe di Marzio, Project Manager for Romanian wind farms, Enel Green Power

What does your job involve? active despite the crisis so I’m happy with my Photo: ENEL Green Power I am a project manager for the construction of choice. So I started working for the ENEL inter- wind power plants, currently based in Romania. A national division four years ago, at the beginning wind farm is a very complex project and the con- I was following grid integration issues, after that struction usually lasts one year. As in any project, I went to ENEL Green Power in 2009 into the there are defi ned goals, schedule and budget. engineering and construction division. So there are lots of activities that contribute For the last three years I’ve been in Romania to the fi nal success of a project. First of all I and so far I have completed three projects. And have to ensure the safety of the people involved maybe next year I will move to the US. There are in the project, as we have zero accidents as a lots of great opportunities with this job! target. I have to ensure the quality of the product we are constructing – a wind farm has to run for How many people are in your team? Giuseppe di Marzio 20-25 years so we have to have good engineer- Altogether in each project team between 20 and ing, good quality and reduce costs. 25 people depending on the size and complex- Last I have to keep an eye on the time ity of the project. In a typical project team there constraints and the budget, and I also have to are a project director, a range of engineers, communicate with my team and others in the or- electrical, mechanical and a control team. Then ganisation and have to motivate the project team there are the people on site who take care of to reach the fi nal goal. the day to day building activities – the construc- tion manager, site coordinator, other engineers. What is a typical day like for you? Also there are some external staff, for example About half of my time is spent doing offi ce work, from business development, legal, procurement, contract management, doing quality checks on fi nance and control, administration. everything related to the contract - the contracts are the Bible in my job! I have to do also report- What is your favourite part of the job? ing activities for my bosses - every week to track Well, a construction project lasts one year, progress of the construction. The other half of and so many times we get to see the whole my time is on site activities such as safety walks development from green fi eld to construction on site to check that all safety standards are in to an operational wind farm. Producing clean place, meetings with suppliers and so on. energy yet not destroying the landscape, and this gives you a good feeling. Also, every single How did you come to work in the wind industry? project I’ve done has been unique – it’s never I’ve been working in the industry for eight years: the same, always different issues, different I studied electrical engineering in Turin, then problems. for four years I did my PhD on the integration of renewables into the power system. After that What is your least favourite part? I wanted to apply the theory to the real life, so There are some constraints, especially time I moved into the energy industry. I chose the and cost constraints, which are very important. renewable industry at a time when renewable en- Sometimes this is due to things outside our ergy technologies were booming in Germany and company. It is frustrating when a project dead- Spain. After many years the market is still very lines is not respected. ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 45 Experience the power of the industry’s annual gathering

See the program and register online

www.ewea.org/annual2012

Monday 16 - Thursday 19 April 2012 - Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark EWEA 2012 - Innovating today, shaping tomorrow Taking place in the birthplace of wind energy, Denmark, EWEA has 20 years of experience in organising “industry EWEA 2012 will focus on new developments and innovative for industry” events. By investing in them, you ensure that thinking in all aspects of wind energy. the right regulatory framework is in place to enable the wind industry to grow further. Don’t miss the industry’s annual gathering. Benefi t from the highest quality conference, international exhibition and incomparable networking opportunities.

SUPPORTED BY: ORGANISED BY: | EWEA 2012 preview |

Powered by innovation: the EWEA 2012 Annual Event

Promoting continued innovation in the wind power industry will be the main theme presented to people gathering in Denmark at the EWEA 2012 Annual Event in April, as Chris Rose discovers.

rom exploring technological advances to Platform (TP Wind); resource assessment, chaired F adopting new approaches and fi nding creative by Jos Beurskens, ECN Wind Energy; integration solutions to problems, this year’s event will act as in electricity systems and markets, chaired by an information catalyst designed to hasten even Frans van Hulle, EWEA; and science and re- further growth in the wind power sector. search, chaired by Peter Tavner from the European While the industry continues to face the Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE). economic downturn, competition from emerging Hylleberg, CEO of the Danish Wind Industry non-EU markets, shifting policy environments and Association, said that innovation is extremely lack of funding, the annual event hosted by EWEA important to the wind power sector because it is set to bring together companies and individu- functions as a major driver of the entire industry. als to help guide, through innovative thinking, the “Focusing intensely on innovation at EWEA future of the emissions-free sector. 2012 underlines the common goal of the indus- try, which is to drive down the cost of energy,” Pick your topic Hylleberg said. “We have to innovate to drive The annual event, held on 16-19 April at the down cost of energy. The various measures be- Bella Center in Copenhagen, will be made up of hind this goal will be addressed and discussed at six different tracks, or streams, in addition to the the conference.” plenary sessions. He said it is a complex challenge to develop a For the fi rst time ever in 2012 there will be programme that satisfi es all attendees, as they dedicated specialist track chairs. The tracks have different backgrounds. include policies, markets and programmes, “Thus the programme must keep a balance chaired by Jan Hylleberg, DWIA; fi nancing, chaired between being too technical and too common- by Michael Liebreich, Bloomberg New Energy sense,” he said. “As track chair I will strive to Finance; hardware technology, chaired by Henning develop a programme from which the attendees Kruse from the European Wind Energy Technology can bring home new and different perspectives on innovation, in order for all attendees to be better equipped, as we face the technological challenges of the future.” Hylleberg added he hopes that EWEA 2012 attendees will benefi t from the programme’s spe- cifi c focus on innovation in the wind power sector. Photo: EWEA/Bickley “There is no doubt that ongoing innovation is pivotal in the wind industry and that it’s a com- mon focus for all companies in the industry.”

Becoming competitive Kruse, the Chair of TPWind, said wind power is a key priority for the European Commission, adding the technology is also on its way to providing a very substantial percentage of the global energy needs. “Thanks to the innovations in the past, we are closer than ever to generating electricity from wind at prices which are competitive with prices It may feel like EWEA’s 2011 Annual Event in Brussels was only yesterday, but EWEA of electricity generated from fossil fuel sources,” 2012 in Copenhagen is just around the corner Kruse said. “We can not in the long run continue

48 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | EWEA 2012 preview | y

being dependant upon support schemes. We power in a massive way into the e need to be truly competitive on our own.” European electricity supply. kle Bic He said the continued growth of wind power Van Hulle says wind power is the EA/

requires even more innovation with design con- major innovative element in the energy EW cepts, the materials going into wind turbines, the supply of today and the future. “Using to: logistics in relation to transportation, installation wind power as a mainstream source Pho and operation, as well as the connection to and for energy supply in itself consists of interaction with the electrical grid. the main innovation in energy supply Kruse said the event’s track chair team has because at this point of time only a been busy exchanging e-mails, having telephone minor part of our energy is coming conferences and going to meetings in order to from wind power.” make EWEA 2012 the best conference ever. He said being innovative therefore “The industry has become so successful and is inherent to working in the wind big due to the employees and their brain power,” industry. “Trying to engage as many he said. “We need to bring all this successful as possible resources in all relevant brain power into the conferences as well.” fi elds — technical, fi nancial, societal Tavner, a Professor from Durham University in and political — to work and to be the UK and President of the European Academy geared for the wind industry unavoid- of Wind Energy, has had a lengthy collaboration ably will bring innovation where it is with EWEA and the wind power sector. needed in the sector itself.” He thinks innovation in the wind energy sec- Van Hulle said it is a great op- tor is important because the industry is rapidly portunity to help the conference growing. “But as it grows it is meeting increasing programme. One major challenge, competition from fossil-fi red and nuclear genera- he said, is to strike a good balance tion and in Europe from overseas suppliers,” between a ‘theoretical’ conference Tavner said. “The only way in Europe that we programme concept imposed by the can meet those challenges is by innovation and conference organisation and the inputs provided by EWEA’s Amy Parsons is keeping our costs under control.” abstract submitters. Another challenge, he added, responsible for overseeing Like other track chairs, Tavner said it is chal- is to ensure that the sessions are designed so the conference programme lenging to take part in developing the EWEA they meet the attendeees’ expectations of the for the 2012 event 2012 programme. attendees. “The most important issue is to give delegates Amy Parsons, EWEA’s Senior Event Manager a stimulating and varied experience which will - Conferences, liaises with the track chairs and oth- benefi t their own ambitions and those of their er stakeholders to shape the annual programme. companies or institutions,” he said. “We must “For me, the main thing to keep in mind is balance at each EWEA conference the commer- the desire to improve the quality of the informa- cial needs of the industry, that are pushing us tion being delivered and the way in which people towards cost goals, and the need for innovation, are learning,” Parsons said. “There is so much that demands focused access to new ideas and valuable knowledge in our industry and I want our possibilities of networking.” conferences to be the place where this is shared, He said the track chairs have tried to be more discussed and improved upon.” focused than wide-ranging in developing the EWEA She said that EWEA has received feedback that 2012 programme. “This means that we are con- the conference programme has at times been too centrating more on some themes than others.” broad and therefore risks a lack of focus. As a Tavner added he thought the innovation theme result, she added, an overarching theme was devel- would be received well by attendees at next April’s oped for the 2012 event to guide the track chairs conference. “The challenge for us in the academ- and lead session chairs in creating and preparing ic community is to give the wider wind industry ac- sessions. cess to our ideas and thinking, while still making “Innovation, in the sense of ‘being innovative’ it fresh and accessible.” rather than just technological innovation, is a key driver of the wind industry and applies to all All about integration aspects of its development – not only developing Van Hulle, a technical consultant for EWEA, has new technologies, but also in terms of thinking been working in the wind industry since the 1980s, creatively about how we work.” fi rst in the area of technical development of wind Parsons said this year’s programme aims to turbines, and later in the area of integrating wind appeal to people who have approached an old

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 49 | EWEA 2012 preview |

problem in a new way, who can bring a different “In line with the main conference theme, they de- perspective based on past experience or best fi ne the scope of their track overall and propose practices from another sector, or have found a session topics, under which we made the call for unique approach to fi nancing a project or imple- abstracts. Under their guidance, the lead ses- menting policy. sion chairs then develop the individual sessions “The environment in which we operate is and select and liaise with the speakers. In this shifting – economically, geographically, politically. way, the track chairs play a vital role in creating ‘Business as usual’ just won’t cut it anymore if a coherent set of sessions and ensuring that the we want to maintain Europe’s position as a lead- main theme is incorporated into the speakers’ ing wind energy market; we need to make sure we presentations.” build on our history of technological invention and As a group, she added, the track chairs also use it to inspire innovative thinking in our other generate input into the structure of the pro- activities.” gramme, advise on the general high-level ses- Parsons said the 2012 conference is the fi rst sions and help to come up with new ideas for a time track chairs have been helping develop the more interactive conference. content and quality of the programme. She said “EWEA has a unique ‘industry for industry’ each track chair has responsibility for the content model, which means that participants in EWEA’s of their group of sessions within a common events can benefi t from all we offer whilst sup- subject area and for guiding the relevant session porting the association’s work, which in turn chairs. enables the wind industry to grow further,” she She said that setting up a programme of the explains. “This also means that we can invest in size and complexity of the 2012 event takes a lot making such improvements to the way in which of people, time and coordination. Each year, she we set up our events, and can actively involve added, the procedure is revised based on feed- wind industry professionals in their creation. back from reviewers, committees and delegates. “It’s really crucial that EWEA engages with This time around, she added, abstract submit- its event participants and members in order to ters were asked to provide more details while produce a programme that meets, and hopefully reviewers were requested to increase the level of exceeds, their expectations – working with the their feedback. track chairs and lead session chairs is one way “With so many abstracts now being received – of making sure that we end up with a well-bal- usually between 600 and 700 – making decisions anced programme designed by people from the on which ones are picked for presentation gets industry itself.” ■ harder and harder, so it’s important to have a rigorous system in place. More on EWEA 2012: www.ewea.org/annual2012

Coming to the cradle of wind energy a r e

Following hard on the heels of last year’s EWEA 2011 m He

Annual Event in Brussels, which attracted a record-breaking : 9,000+ participants coming from a total of 84 countries, Europe’s premier wind energy event will this year take place Photo in Copenhagen, capital of wind energy pioneer Denmark. Denmark will also hold the EU Presidency during the fi rst half of 2012. The 2012 edition is set to be bigger and better than ever before, with more than 10,000 professionals from around the world expected to attend. The event includes 12,000m2 of exhibition space which is expected to attract more than 450 exhibiting companies. In 2012 EWEA’s event is coming to Copenhagen The conference and exhibition, held on 16-19 April at the Bella Center, will consist of multiple learning and networking www.ewea.org/annual2012 until 14 April. As of 15 April, opportunities, from education at numerous sessions, to vis- people can also register onsite at the event venue. iting the exhibition grounds and attending social gatherings. Also on 15 April, EWEA will present a pre-event seminar Those who haven’t already committed to the on “Wind Energy - The Facts” while the Danish Wind Industry EWEA 2012 Annual Event can register online at Association will offer a session on “Integration of Wind Power.”

50 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 THE #1 SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROFESSIONALS

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In 2012, Wind Directions will take a look at a selection of wind A closer look at… energy markets across Europe and beyond. Germany By Zoë Casey

sector – politically total wind power capacity. By 2020 its secured through the market share in Europe could be more Renewable Sources around the 15% mark as the UK, Spain, Act 2012. France, Italy, Poland and others build In the summer of up their wind sectors, but it will still be 2011 the German par- the EU’s capacity leader, adding an ad- liament passed new ditional 21,786 MW between 2011 and legislation committing 2020. By 2020, the BWE says there the country to a re- will be 55,000 MW of wind power – newable energy target 10,000 MW of that offshore. of 35% by 2020, While there was a slight dip in rising to 80% by 2050 2010, in 2011 the German market for – with wind energy wind energy picked up, according to a making the biggest survey of manufacturers carried out by contribution. Germany’s wind energy institute DEWI. Photo: Hemera As part of this new A total of 793 MW were installed in deal, a new feed-in Germany in the fi rst half of 2011, ith its decision to turn off all its nu- tariff for renewables will come into effect 133 MW – or 20% more – than in the Wclear reactors by 2022 - following from 1 January 2012. The new system fi rst half of 2010. last year’s catastrophic nuclear accident will maintain onshore wind support at With two offshore wind farms – at the Fukushima power plant in Japan 8.93 cents/kW hour for a minimum of fi ve Alpha Ventus in the North Sea and - Germany is under the energy spot- years, and 15 cents/kW hour for a mini- Baltic 1 – already fully operational, light. Many are asking how the country mum of 12 years for offshore, depending Germany is on the cusp of discovering will manage to wean itself off a power on the distance to shore and water depth its enormous offshore potential. With source that once accounted for 23% of – this is a signifi cant encouragement to the government’s recent extension national electricity consumption (before investors. of its support scheme, this will grow. Fukushima), but it is already becoming Onshore wind power meanwhile is clear that renewables will be the answer. The status of wind power today expected to continue to grow steadily For the German Wind Energy With access to the windy North and Baltic and right now there is a large onshore Association, BWE, wind power alone can Seas and a good wind resource through- wind farm under construction which fi ll the gap left from the nuclear exit. A out the country, Germany is a wind power also includes a hydrogen storage dem- BWE survey on the potential of onshore mega-house. It is one of Europe’s wind onstration project known as RH2-WKA. wind energy in Germany points out that energy pioneers, alongside Denmark and While growth projections are there is a 198 GW potential if 2% of Spain. In 1990 the country already had strong, BWE says the sector faces the land in each German state were to 55 MW of wind-powered electricity supply- barriers. Long and complicated plan- be used for wind energy. That amount ing 0.3% of the electricity demand. ning procedures, height and distance would produce 390 Terawatt hours of Today, Germany has around 27,981 restrictions, as well as grid extension electricity – 65% of Germany’s gross MW of wind energy (mid-2011 fi gures) and connection problems are some of power consumption – and a lot more accounting for just over 30% of the EU’s the problems. ■ than nuclear produced in 2009 (134 TWh). In the short term the country may Germany – the wind energy facts face a struggle to meet the energy shortfall from the already deactivated nuclear plants (eight were disconnected ALL NUCLEAR PLANTS TURNED OFF ...... By 2022 from the electricity grid by August 2011), CURRENT WIND POWER CAPACITY ...... 27,981 MW (mid 2011) but in the mid to long term, Germany PROJECTED CAPACITY 2020 . . . . . 55,000 MW (including 10,000 MW offshore) will have a much greener energy

52 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012

| EWEA news |

It was thirty What do you think of years ago today this magazine?

It’s now 2012 - what does that mean Do you fi nd it interesting, analytical, for you? Maybe it’s a year in which you’ll incisive? make a big business decision, change Or do you think it’s boring? Too jobs or positions in your company. corporate? Maybe it’s even a year in which you’ll What about the presentation, is it im- It takes just ten minutes, and two lucky get married or go on an amazing holiday! aginative, eye-catching or too traditional? participants will win an Amazon Kindle. For EWEA, 2012 is a very special, The Wind Directions team want to know The results will be published in the June birthday year: it’s 30 years since we what you, our readers think, and you can edition of the magazine. were founded. In 1982, we were set up now tell us by taking part in the 2012 edi- To read the results of the 2010 sur- with one staff member to help support a tion of the Wind Directions readers’ survey vey, go to www.ewea.org/wd and scroll fl edgling industry. at www.ewea.org/wdsurvey. down to the June 2010 issue. “Today, we have 60 members of staff, 750 members and the wind energy industry is a giant”, commented Malgosia Upcoming EWEA workshops Bartosik, EWEA’s Events and Membership Director. “This is very exciting and to both In addition to its main events, EWEA making wind energy an integral part of look back and, more importantly, forward also organises focused events on issues energy discussions at EU level. to our next 30 years of work on behalf of of strategic importance to members Following the success of the technol- our members, various special events and and the industry as a whole. In 2012, ogy workshop for specialists in 2011, activities will be taking place in 2012.” EWEA will return to Hungary, Romania EWEA will hold a second one in 2012, Regular visitors to EWEA’s website, and Bulgaria with its fourth consecutive plus an ‘introduction to wind energy’ www.ewea.org, with sharp eyes will soon series of conferences in emerging wind seminar for those new to the indus- notice a new ’30 years’ logo. More infor- markets organised in co operation with try on the eve of EWEA Annual 2012, mation will follow on what is planned, but the national associations. as well as further events related to it will include a special ’pearl anniver- EWEA will continue its highly success- European projects including Twenties, sary’ edition of Wind Directions later in ful series of policy debates in Brussels, TPWind and SEANERGY 2020. the year. attracting key EU decision makers and More on EWEA events: www.ewea.org/events Do you have a hidden talent for Vienna prepares photography? to host Europe’s

EWEA and the Global Wind Energy One of the photos premier wind Council (GWEC) have launched a that won the last photo contest as part of the run-up contest, in 2009 energy in 2013 to the next Global Wind Day (held on 15 June each year). The title of the From 4-7 February 2013, the EWEA Annual contest is ‘Wind in mind’, and the event (formerly known as EWEC) will be contest will particularly be looking held in the Austrian capital. EWEA 2013 for imaginative, unusual photos. will bring together a wide-ranging confer- The offi cial launch of the photo ence programme, an international exhibi- contest was in mid-January, and tion covering 14,000m2 and may network- photos will be accepted until May. ing and business opportunities. The jury – made up of environmen- Exhibition sales are open – and the tal photographer Mark Edwards and exhibition always sells out earlier on, so others – will present the winning it is never too early to book your stand. At photos on 20 June at an evening the time of writing, 30% of the spots on the reception held with the Danish EU exhibition fl oor were sold. Presidency. For all stand reservations and booking Find out more on the Global Wind Day enquiries contact Sanna Heinonen: website, which recently underwent a re- Email: [email protected] vamp to become even fresher and more tel: + 32 2 213 18 37

user-friendly: www.globalwindday.org. Photo: EWEA/Depasse More information on EWEA 2013: www.ewea.org/events

54 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 | EWEA news | Next EWEA OFFSHORE event goes to the heart of fi nance Events

Spots on the exhibition fl oor are sell- European Central bank and the biggest ing fast for EWEA OFFSHORE 2013. European fi nancial capital, Frankfurt is Following the 2011 edition of the event in also very well connected to the rest of Amsterdam, attended by 8,200 people, Europe by road, rail and air. In addition, the 2013 event will be held from 19-21 the Frankfurt Messe is a highly modern, EWEA 2012 Annual Event November 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany. attractive conference and exhibition 16-19 April 2012 Why Frankfurt? Normally EWEA holds venue. Copenhagen, Denmark its offshore events in port cities because For all stand reservations and booking www.ewea.org/annual2012 of the link to the sea. Frankfurt, however, enquiries contact Sanna Heinonen: E-mail: [email protected] has been chosen because it is highly Email: [email protected] Tel : +32 2 213 1860 relevant for one of the most pressing tel: + 32 2 213 18 37 issues facing the offshore wind indus- More information on OFFSHORE 2013: try today: fi nancing. The home of the www.ewea.org/events

EWEA 2013 Annual Event 4-7 February 2013 Reading corner Vienna, Austria www.ewea.org/events Jos Beurskens from Dutch research E-mail: [email protected] centre ECN explains a new book from Tel: +32 2 213 18 60 the We@Sea project, “Converting off- shore wind into electricity”.

What is your book about in a few words? It contains the results of the Dutch programme We@sea, which ran from the more we looked, the less big they ap- EWEA OFFSHORE 2013 2004-2010. The project was about how peared. And those doing the research on 19 – 21 November 2013 to accelerate offshore wind deploy- the environmental side, who might have Frankfurt, Germany ment. It covers all the essential issues opposed offshore wind came to support www.ewea.org/events when you have to realise a wind farm us. This is because when you put big off- E-mail:[email protected] offshore, from ecological issues to shore wind farms in North Sea it attracts Tel: +32 2 213 1860 fi nancing, with the goal of installing more fi sh and a wider range of sea-life, and 6,000 MW by 2020. biologists like diversity. Another surprise concerned fl ow inside Who should read it? wind farms. We discovered that you need a It has general issues but it also goes huge distance between the farms to allow into quite a lot of depth – a mechanical the wind to recover. The distances between engineer would not be able to under- farms could be fi ve times the size of one stand the electric section, for example wind farm, and those who do spatial plan- - but it is relevant if you have a profes- ning need to take this into account. sional interest in offshore wind. It is We also found that 6,000 MW of off- also aimed at the Dutch government, shore wind energy can be integrated into to show there is a market for offshore the Dutch energy system without a need wind. for extra storage. The book comes with the website which is even more in depth: Where can a reader get hold of a copy? www.we-at-sea.org Through the website, www.we-at-sea.org, and from the publisher. It costs €30. Were there any surprises for you in the results? If you have a wind energy-related publication We started looking at the ecological to share in Wind Directions, email Sarah at impacts of offshore wind energy, and [email protected].

WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 55 EWEA welcomes new members

Aibel AS (Norway) Cluster de Energía (Spain) Innovation Norway (Norway) www.aibel.com The Asociación Cluster de Energía is a non-profi t www.innovasjonnorge.no organisation which was set up in late 1996 Anglo Dutch Marine Contractors (The following the policy of the Basque Government to Kuehne + Nagel (AG & Co.) KG (Germany) Netherlands) improve competitiveness in the Basque industrial www.kuehne-nagel.com Anglo Dutch Marine Contractors specializes in a wide network in the energy area. ACE integrates the main range of marine activities and is the sister company companies in the energy sector supply chain in the Maritime Offshore Group GmbH (Germany) to GPS Marine Contractors Ltd, whose history can Basque Country (energy operators, component and For successful planning, preparation and realization be traced back to 1964. Established to provide equipment manufacturers and service companies), of your offshore projects, our highly qualifi ed team clients with our services in the Salvage and Heavy lift players in the Basque scientifi c-technological is by your side. Our team includes experienced fi eld, ADMC aims to supply dedicated support and fi eld, and public administration bodies with engineers (naval architects, mechanical engineers, specialized services. Based on the experience of our responsibilities in the energy sector. structural engineers), design draftsman as well as staff and crew and two well maintained seagoing www.clusterenergia.com long-time captains and cargo-superintendents from 400 ton sheerlegs at their disposal, ADMC can meet the offshore and heavy lift segment. clients’ lifting requirements. EBERHARDT Gruppe (Germany) www.maritime-offshore-group.com www.admc.nl www.eberhardt-gruppe.com PES (UK) Limited ASAKE S.COOP (Spain) Elpower Srl (Italy) PAGEL Offshore Grouting is a joint venture between www.asakenropeaccess.com ELPOWER is an Italian company operating in four European Partners: the renewable source industry specialising in • PAGEL(Germany) Baze Technology (Norway) the design, testing and after-sales services for • PES (UK & International) Baze Technology delivers ground-breaking grid connection inverters for power plants from • Beckschulte (Germany) operations management software for wind farm renewable sources. • Verwaard Handelsonderneming (Netherlands) operations. Our Wind Farm Management System ELPOWER has standardised and certifi ed two With over 120 years of combined experience, we is turbine independent and based on international classes of conversion systems: specialise in off/onshore grouting of monopile, standards like RDS-PP. The system is scalable from • Double inverter (back to back) for all applications tripod, jacket, gravity-based and prototype single farm to large multi-site farms, captures (direct drive at variable speed) in which the foundations for the wind, wave and tidal energy real-time data, gives availability, losses and key electrical generating system uses a permanent markets. performance, and supplies tools for analysis and magnet synchronous generator in particular in the www.pesukltd.com effective work processes. All to increase profi tability mini wind fi eld www.pagel.com of wind farm operations. • Single inverter for applications in the photovoltaic www.baumaschinen-beckschulte.de www.bazetechnology.com fi eld www.verwaard-bouwstoffen.com www.elpower.it BLADEFENCE (Finland) REBO nv (Belgium) Bladefence is an innovative wind turbine blade GEOXYZ bvba (Belgium) www.reboostende.be service company with a focus on maximum GEOxyz is a leading independent survey company, output from the blades and minimum surprises. specialising in geophysical & geotechnical surveys SeaRenergy Offshore GmbH & Cie. KG (Germany) Our services include blade inspections, repairs, and positioning services. GEOxyz provides survey www.searenergy.de maintenance and wind turbine blade life cycle services to local & port authorities, dredging & management throughout Europe. marine construction companies and increasingly Sumitomo Corp. Europe Ltd. (UK) www.bladefence.com to the offshore renewable sector. GEOxyz have a www.sumitomocorpeurope.com dedicated team of fully qualifi ed professionals and Canadoil Europe SRL (Italy) utilises her own fl eet of fully equipped vessels. www.canadoilgroup.com www. geoxyz.be

Chevalier Floatels (The Netherlands) IDEOL (France) Chevalier Floatels BV is a young company with 10 IDEOL has developed and patented a fl oating years experience in the fl oatel industry. One of our foundation with a construction and installation last projects involved accommodating 1500 guests cost of around 1 M€/MW, twice cheaper than other offshore for the oil industry. fl oating solutions, fully compatible with existing Currently we own 2 state-of-the-art DP2 wind turbines without any major modifi cation, accommodation vessels with Ampelmann Heave suitable for any soil condition and whatever the Compensated Gangway. The vessel features 54 water depth from 35 meters. Turbine installation single cabins with en-suite bathrooms and TV, and pre-commissioning is done onshore at Internet and game consoles in all cabins. Ample quayside without any specifi c vessels. recreation facilities, offi ces and storage areas www.ideol-offshore.com complete the vessels. www.fl oatels.biz

56 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012 Have them embrace the force of wind

In 2010, the EU institutions agreed to €6bn for wind energy research up to 2020. To implement this, the EU must commit €186 million per year – just 0.15% of the EU budget.

Properly funded, Europe’s wind energy industry could provide 16% of EU electricity, avoid 340 million tonnes of CO2 and employ over 460,000 people by 2020.

It’s called value for money. But without the money, the EU could miss out on the value. www.windplatform.eu

Projects partners:

Support by:

Produced for TPWind by the European Wind Energy Association | the last word | “Existing interconnections between Member States are useless”

OSG defi nes the European Supergrid as a F pan-European transmission network facilitat- Who are the ‘Friends of the Supergrid? ing the integration of large-scale renewable energy The Friends of the Supergrid (FOSG) is a group and the balancing and transportation of electricity, of companies and organisations which have a with the aim of improving the European market. mutual interest in promoting and infl uencing The current 23 members of FOSG understand the policy and regulatory framework required that decarbonising the European power sector to enable large-scale interconnection in and its economy can only be reached by gradually Europe: the so-called ‘Supergrid’. but steadily increasing the EU energy mix with re- FOSG includes companies that will deliver newable energies, phasing out conventional fuels the required infrastructure and technology,

Photo: FOSG and developing a pan-European electrical network, together with companies that will develop, the Supergrid. install, own and operate that infrastructure. By Ana Aguado The way the EU Member States have been The Friends will design the physical equipment, designing their electrify networks in the last 40- and work alongside the companies that will Cornago 50 years and have decided their energy mix was build the structures at sea. CEO of Friends of the useful for conventional sources of energy and FOSG includes companies like ABB, DONG Supergrid (FOSG) the only way considering the level of European Energy, GE, Siemens and Vattenfall, amongst integration at that time. Useful did not mean most others. effi cient and certainly not as regards the realisa- More information: www.friendsofthesupergrid.eu tion of the internal electrify market still missing after 14 years when such integration was also desirable for the energy sector. energy sector needs a long-term vision approach, The industry represented in FOSG is the proof with decisions taken today, and that short-term that a clean energy system is possible since they political and nationalistic interests do simply not have and wish to further invest fi t anymore with the low or zero in the innovative technologies “EU governments carbon economies aimed at. On necessary to build it. But one the contrary, in the diversity of thing has not and will never should take the European energy sources lies change in the energy sector; decisions that will security; European industry has investments remain a long-term the technologies to lead an strategic action. The same as lead to employment ambitious climate policy and the decisions 50 years ago have and to huge business more borders the Supergrid will determined the unsustainable cross the more effective and societies of today, decisions opportunities.” less costly. today can determine to continue Questions related to own- with the unsustainable trend or to change for a ership, regulation, fi nancing, protocols and transformed energy system. standards of operation of the Supergrid need FOSG work is all based on trying to convince to be addressed today at European level and policy makers and regulatory authorities that the FOSG will have further proposals to be made on 21 March 2012 during our fi rst annual conference Ana Aguado Cornago is became the fi rst in Brussels. CEO of ‘Friends of the Supergrid’ in October The Supergrid is an answer to a European “Decisions 2010. Previously she was Brussels Director requirement, and needs to be managed for the today can of the European University Institute where benefi t of Europe as a whole. For the energy her work focused on raising the profi le of transformation that is already happening and that determine the research carried out by the Institute through should evolve much further, the existing intercon- unsustainable the media, industry and EU Institutions. nections between Member States are absolutely Prior to that she was Secretary General of useless. EU governments should take strategic trend or to the Association of European Transmission collegial long-term decisions in a period of eco- transform the System Operators. She studied law at the nomical diffi culties that will lead to employment, university of Valencia in Spain. to huge business opportunities and therefore to energy system.” economic benefi ts. ■

58 WIND DIRECTIONS | February 2012