2011 Volume 30/No 3

INTERVIEW CARLOSCARLOS DASD DORES ZORRINHO Portugal’s rising Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy wind energy star

| contents |

THE EUROPEAN WIND INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

June 2011 Volume 30/No 3

letter from the editor 5 Scaling technological heights wind news 6 EU roadmap 10 Wanted: higher EU emissions reduction targets briefi ng 15 control centre visit 18 Getting the detailed view interview 22 Dermot Grimson, UK Crown Estate country focus 25 A closer look at Norway... wind worker 26 Dirk Buschmann, E.ON Fermín Dueñas, Acciona fi rst person 28 Claus Madsen, ABB focus 30 Portugal - the quiet wind energy star interview 38 Carlos das Dores Zorrinho, Secretary of State for Energy, Portugal technology special 42 Radar and wind turbines – learning to live together EWEA 2011 report 46 EWEA 2011 moves onwards and upwards EWEA news 50 EWEA welcomes new members 55 the last word 58 Wind Directions is published fi ve times a year. The contents do not necessarily refl ect the views and policy of EWEA. Bruce Douglas, EWEA’s former COO

Publisher: Christian Kjaer Editor: Sarah Azau Writers: Sarah Azau, Chris Rose, Zoë Casey Design & production: www.inextremis.be Cover photo: Enercon Additional design and photographic input: Jesus Quesada, Jason Bickley

Cert no. SGS-COC-006375

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 3 DEPENDABLE NORDEX ENGINEERING – NOW ALSO WITH DIRECT DRIVE.

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B_NOR_564_Nordex_AZ_K11_A4_WiKrJo_GB_RZ.indd 1 24.03.2011 14:30:33 Uhr | letter from the editor |

By Sarah Azau Editor

Scaling technological heights

echnology is evolving at a breathless pace. A few Mapping the future Tdecades ago, to know what your ten Technology was also at the centre of a European kilometres away was doing, you had to get in a car Commission Roadmap published in March. The or a train and travel there, or call someone onsite. Roadmap recommended that the power sector These days, it’s all done at the fl ick of a virtual reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 93-99% switch, from ‘control centres’ that monitor every as- by 2050 to keep the EU in line with its own targets pect of a wind farm 24 hours a day. These centres and avoid climate catastrophe. On p. 10, Chris not only allow a problem to be identifi ed and xedfi Rose analyses the Roadmap and argues that the as soon as possible once it arises, they enable data key fi rst step to 2050 is a higher goal for 2020, of to be gathered showing where turbine and wind farm 30% emission reductions in Europe. designs can be improved so that the whole sector can evolve. I visited one such centre in Spain and Memory lane you can read about it on p. 18. Looking back rather than forward, on p. 48 Chris One country with a genuine vision for electrical Rose also presents a summary of the EWEA 2011 and renewable energy technology is Portugal. Annual Event - with plenty of photos – that took Something of an unsung hero of the renewables place this March in Brussels, both for those who world, Portugal is second only to Denmark in were there and for those who missed it. terms of the percentage of its electricity it gets Looking back even further – at his ten years from wind. But not only does the country have a at the helm of EWEA - is the author of this strong wind energy track record and innovative issue’s ‘Last Word’, Bruce Douglas, who was industry, it has ambitious plans for a smart grid Chief Operating Offi cer up to March this year. and electric vehicles, which are being rolled out When Douglas joined the association’s staff, in the historic university town of Évora. While the it represented growth of 50%. This year, there political situation could change with the elections are 54 of us engaged in lobbying, researching, on 5 June, it looks likely that whoever wins will communicating, writing and organising as part continue to support the country’s vision. Read of the voice of the European wind industry. Read more in the Focus on p. 30 and the interview more on p. 58. with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy on p. 38. Join in worldwide Technological progress is nearly always to be Finally, this magazine goes to print just a couple welcomed – whether it be more effi cient wind of weeks before this year’s Global Wind Day turbines, cars that run on renewable electricity or takes place on Wednesday 15 June. See what’s being able to check your emails on your phone – going on in your neck of the woods – from games but sometimes it is necessary to fi nd solutions and concerts to competitions and seminars to allow vital technologies to operate in harmony. - by going onto the interactive event map on On p. 42, Crispin Aubrey examines the at times www.globalwindday.org, follow the news on Twitter complex relationship between radar - used to ensure (use #globalwindday) and have a look for the aeroplanes follow safe paths - and wind turbines. dedicated Global Wind Day page on Facebook. ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 5 | wind news |

CANADA consumption of 400,000 Danish house- renewables from 2011 to 2013, the 104 MW more for Canada holds, or 4% of Denmark’s total electric- company has annouced. Currently its has received an order for 58 ity consumption. biggest project in Europe is the London turbines – with a combined capacity of More information: www.dongenergy.com Array offshore wind farm – being 104 MW - for a wind energy project in built with partners DONG Energy and Canada. EUROPE Masdar - which will have 1,000 MW of The contract includes delivery and Next generation Ventos CFD capacity, making it the world’s largest commissioning along with a 10-year model to be developed wind farm when fully completed. service and maintenance agreement. RES, Natural Power and the Faculty of Recently, E.ON installed the fi rst of Delivery is scheduled for mid-2012 Engineering at the University of Porto 94 turbines in a wind farm in Illinois, and commissioning expected in au- (FEUP), Portugal have joined up for a US. When completed, the farm at tumn 2012.The blades and nacelles research and development joint ven- Settlers Trail will have 150 MW of will be provided from Vestas’ factory in ture focused on developing the next capacity, and be able to supply the Colorado. generation VENTOS computational fl uid equivalent of 45,000 households with So far, Vestas has supplied 1,683 dynamics (CFD) model for wind energy clean electricity. MW of installed wind capacity to Canada. applications. More information: www.eon.com More information: www.vestas.com VENTOS is a series of tools that are used in combination with onsite wind MONGOLIA CHINA measurements to predict wind conditions Turbines for the wind-swept Spanish and Chinese companies that at the location of each turbine of a plains of IMAR work together proposed wind farm. This allows turbines Vestas has received an order for Chinese power company Longyuan is to be sited in areas of complex terrain 25 turbines, of a total 50 MW, for to work with Gamesa to develop wind and forestry at locations appropriate to the north eastern part of the Inner projects of up to 900 MW in international their design and helps to provide accurate Mongolia Autonomous Region (IMAR), markets outside of China. The agree- predictions of their long term energy yield. China. ment - the fi rst to be signed by Chinese The R&D programme will focus on key The climate in the north eastern and Spanish companies in the wind areas of immediate interest to the wind part of IMAR where Hulunbeier is energy industry - calls for the partners to energy industry including non-neutral located is extremely harsh and hostile, research suitable sites for the joint de- atmospheric fl ows, turbine wakes and and wind turbines can only be installed velopment of wind farms in international forestry. from May to September. markets, primarily the United States and More information: www.res-group.com The contract includes delivery, European and Latin American countries. installation and commissioning of the Gamesa and Longyuan will research GERMANY wind turbines, as well as a service and wind projects, both those Gamesa has €2.6 billion to be invested in maintenance agreement. The turbines already identifi ed and included in its wind renewables up to 2013 are scheduled to be delivered in the farm project portfolio, and new ventures E.ON plans to invest €2.6 billion in second quarter of 2011. in strategic countries. Gamesa cur- rently has a wind farm portfolio of over 22,600 MW at varying stages of develop- ment in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

More information: www.gamesa.es Photo: EWEA

DENMARK Pension savers become owners of Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm A forthcoming offshore wind farm in Denmark now has 840,000 pension savers as new co-owners, since pension funds PensionDanmark and PKA acquired half of the offshore wind farm from DONG Energy recently. PensionDanmark bought 30% and PKA bought 20%. Anholt offshore wind farm will consist of 111 wind turbines which will make it Denmark’s largest. On its completion in 2013, the farm will be generating green power equivalent to the annual electricity Investing in a Danish pension fund could get you shares in an offshore wind farm

6 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | wind news |

More information: www.vestas.com POLAND New wind farm planned for north-west Poland Photo: GWEC GE Energy is to supply three 2.5 MW turbines to the new Żeńsko wind farm in north-west Poland. The project is lo- cated in the city of Krzęcin in Choszczno County, West-Pomerania Province. The project is owned by KSM Energia. According to the Poland Wind Energy Association, the country has a total installed wind capacity of more than 1,100 MW. More information: www.gepower.com

UK 5 MW turbine installed in UK waters A 153 metre high turbine of 5 MW capac- ity has been installed at the Ormonde offshore wind farm off the coast of Cumbria in the UK. The REpower turbine was installed by REpower with Vattenfall. When complete, the wind farm will have 150 MW from 30 wind turbines, and should supply the equivalent of 100,000 homes with its 500 GWh of clean electricity. The wind farm should be completed by the second half of this year. More information: www.vattenfall.com Poland has a total installed wind capacity of more than 1,100 MW

New offshore foundation could of nearby , according to an year - the lowest wind generation cost reduce CAPEX Iberdrola press release – the equivalent ever recorded. That is according to the The SMart Wind consortium, led by of 440,000 homes. most recent edition of the Mainstream Renewable Power and The , which came Price Index published by Bloomberg New Siemens Project Ventures, has signed on stream in 2009, is located south of Energy Finance. its fi rst contract to install a met mast Glasgow and currently has installed ca- In a number of areas with excellent at the 4,000 MW Hornsea zone off the pacity of 322 MW. It houses ’s wind conditions (in the US, Sweden, east coast of the UK. The mast, which fi rst renewable energy learning centre. Mexico and Brazil), wind-generated en- is due to be installed in August, will use The expanded facility is due to reach the ergy costs (including capital and main- the new “twisted jacket” foundation, new operational capacity in 2012. tenance costs and excluding the effect designed by Keystone Engineering. A The is located in of incentives) amounts to around $68 press release from the consortium says Forth, Lanarkshire, 40 kilometres from per MWh (€50), compared to $67 per the design, which was funded with the Glasgow, and has been operational since MWh for coal plants and $56 MWh for Carbon Trust and DONG Energy, could 2005 with installed capacity of 124 MW. gas plants. “signifi cantly reduce foundation it will increase by 69 MW to 193 MW, with Bloomberg NEF examined more than CAPEX costs.” construction slated to commence in 2012 150 sale contracts of onshore turbines, More information: www.mainstreamrp.com and is expected to be completed in 2014. for a total of nearly 7,000 MW in 28 More information: www.iberdrola.es countries around the world, focusing on Scottish wind farms to expand Europe and the Americas. It found that Two Iberdrola wind farms in Scotland are WORLD in the fi rst half of the year the average to expand to become the largest in the Wind energy generation cost price of wind turbines for the buyer was country, with the Whitelee farm moving to reached all time low in 2010 980,000 €/MW, recording a 7% de- 539 MW and the Black Law farm going For the fi rst time, the cost of wind tur- crease over the previous year and a 19% up to 193 MW. Once online, they will be bines on the main international mar- drop compared with 2007-2008. able to supply “double the population” kets fell below €1 million per MW last More information: www.bnef.com ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 7 The brand new WinWinD 3

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Wanted: higher EU emissions reduction targets Chris Rose examines the ’s pathway to a “low carbon” society in 2050 and argues that the fi rst steps must be a 30% emissions cut by 2020 and a 2030 renewable energy target.

Photo: Comstock he quality of life in Europe four decades from said after the Communication was published in Tnow depends largely on how politicians react March. “The longer we wait, the higher the cost to a 15 page Communication that the European will be. As oil prices keep rising, Europe is paying Commission published earlier this year on the more every year for its energy bill and becoming pressing need to move to a low carbon economy. more vulnerable to price shocks. So starting the Called “A Roadmap for moving to a com- transition now will pay off.” petitive low carbon economy in 2050,” the Hedegaard added that society does not need Communication sets the scene for starting to to wait for future technological breakthroughs. deal with as massive a transformation of soci- “The low carbon economy can be built by further ety as the one caused by the all encompassing developing proven technologies that exist already Industrial Revolution more than 150 years ago. today.”

The Roadmap states that a 93-99% cut in CO2 EWEA agreed that the Roadmap’s proposal for

emissions in the power sector by 2050 is essen- a 93-99% cut in CO2 emissions in the power sec- tial to achieve the lowest end of the EU’s green- tor by 2050 was essential, but said the road to a house gas emissions reduction pledge. The EU low carbon economy in 2050 must start with an has committed to an 80-95% emissions cut (com- immediate increase in the EU’s emissions reduc- pared with 1990 levels) by 2050. Only this level tion target for 2020. of reduction will give – according to scientists - a “Moving now to 30% domestic emissions 50% chance of avoiding the 2°C world tempera- reductions by 2020 (instead of today’s 20% target), ture rise that would bring climate disaster. together with targets for 2030 is necessary to achieve the long-term goals set out in the 2050 A range of reactions roadmap,” according to an EWEA press release. As intimidating as that goal might be, changing EWEA also criticised the term “low carbon the way we create and use energy is imminently technology” used in the Roadmap. achievable — and Connie Hedegaard, European “The Commission has now defi ned what the Commissioner for Climate Action, agrees. 2050 power sector can emit, but has failed to de- “We need to start the transition towards a fi ne what a low carbon energy technology actually competitive low carbon economy now,” Hedegaard is” said Christian Kjaer, EWEA’s Chief Executive.

10 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | EU roadmap |

This was a point emphasised in more dramatic into the market, so that the power sector itself “We have to language by Claude Turmes, Green MEP and rap- can adapt its investment and operational strate- porteur on the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive. gies to changing energy prices and technology. stop this Speaking at the EWEA 2011 Annual Event in EWEA believes that the ETS has done very low-carbon March, he warned that low carbon targets were little to drive investments in renewables so far. In “nonsense targets,” and added later that “low what is known as ‘Phase 2’ of the ETS – which technology carbon is a disaster” because it was far vaguer in runs from 2008 to 2012 – the fi nancial crisis gang.” scope than the term “renewable energy” and al- brought industrial production down, meaning lowed other power sources, such as nuclear, to be heavy industry emitted less than it was entitled to included in the target. “We have to stop this low do, which in turn meant that it had spare emis- carbon technology gang,” he said. sions allowances (EUAs). It hung on to these and sold them cheaply to the power sector, which will All about targets now be able to use them in Phase 3 of the ETS Relying on an extensive modelling analysis with from 2013 and continue emitting. So rather than several possible scenarios, the Communication invest in renewable technology, the power sector found that “if the EU delivers on its current chose to buy cheap allowances, pass the cost policies, including its commitment to reach 20% onto the customer – and keep polluting. renewables, and achieve 20% energy effi ciency “The most effi cient way to make the ETS more by 2020, this would enable the EU to outperform effi cient is to raise the emissions reduction target the current 20% emission reduction target and to 30% by 2020,” says Gruet. achieve a 25% domestic reduction by 2020.” Following the 25% domestic reduction by Show me the money 2020, the “cost-effective pathway” by 2030 and Noting there is a cost attached to developing a 2040 would be domestic emission reductions low carbon economy, the Communication said the of 40% and 60% below 1990 levels, said the increase in necessary public and private invest- Communication. ment is likely to amount to about €270 billion “Wind energy alone can contribute signifi cantly annually over the next 40 years. to even a 30% reduction target”, points out Rémi “This represents an additional investment of Gruet, EWEA’s Senior Regulatory Affairs Advisor. around 1.5% of EU GDP per annum on top of the “In 2010, it avoided reductions equivalent to 28% overall current investment representing 19% of of the EU’s reductions target under the Kyoto GDP in 2009,” the Communication said, adding Protocol. By 2020, based on EWEA’s targets for it would take us back to the investment levels installed wind energy capacity, it should avoid before the current economic crisis. domestically as much as 31% of the EU’s current Having said that, the document noted the tran- 20% target - or 20% of a potential 30% target.” sition to a low carbon economy will bring about a What is more, the current targets being number of other essential benefi ts beyond reduc- discussed include a certain amount of ‘offsets’ tions in greenhouse gas emissions. – that is, projects outside the EU, but paid for by EU countries (as it is often cheaper to fund such projects in less industrialised nations) whose avoided CO2 emissions can be counted as part of the EU’s own reduction. EWEA, on the other hand, believes the 30% target it is calling for should be a ‘domestic’ one. That means that only projects within the EU count Photo: Acciona - J.Campos towards it – and the invested money stays within the EU. If such a goal - a 30% domestic reduc- tions target - is put in place, wind energy alone would avoid emissions equivalent to about a third of it – 31%. “The EU needs to realise that science de- mands more ambitious emissions cuts to prevent the worst climate change, and that wind energy alone can do a great deal towards it”, says Gruet.

Trading emissions The Communication also said the existing EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) will be critical in driving a wide range of low carbon technologies In just fi ve years, the number of jobs in renewable energy more than doubled

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 11 | EU Roadmap |

“The path to One of those key benefi ts coming from improved not cut EU greenhouse gas emissions fast 95% cuts by energy effi ciencies and the switch to locally enough to prevent dangerous climate change produced low-carbon energy sources over the next and could lead to a three-degree rise in global 2050 starts four decades will be a reduction in the EU’s aver- temperature. now.” age fuel costs by between €175 billion and €320 FOE said deeper emissions cuts must be billion per year. made earlier — 40% by 2020 — if the EU is to “In 2050, the EU’s total primary energy con- deliver on its pledge to cut emissions to avoid sumption could be about 30% below 2005 levels. dangerous climate change. More domestic energy resources would be used, “If these plans go ahead European govern- in particular renewables. Imports of oil and gas ments are effectively abandoning any realistic would decline by half compared to today, reducing hope of keeping global temperatures rises below the negative impacts of potential oil and gas price two degrees, locking us into catastrophic climate shocks signifi cantly.” change,” said Mike Childs, FOE’s Head of Climate The document said investing early in the Change. low carbon economy would stimulate a gradual The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) structural change in the economy and can create welcomed the low carbon Roadmap but warned in net terms new jobs both in the short and the that attention could not slip from ambitious action medium term. As an example, it said in just fi ve in the short term. years, the renewable energy industry increased EEB said having a long-term vision for the fu- its work force from 230,000 to 550,000. ture should not be an excuse to avoid short-term, Also benefi ts from grid investments, “do not ambitious targets. always accrue to the grid operator, but to society at In a press release, the EEB said the proposal large (with co-benefi ts for consumers, producers, that existing efforts will already bring cuts of 25% and society at large: a more reliable network, energy by 2020 suggests that going further is all the security and reduced emissions)”, it pointed out. more possible. “The path to 95% cuts by 2050 starts now. Not ambitious enough This gives the green light to 30% reductions with EWEA urged the European Commission to follow measures to reduce energy use and strength- up the Roadmap with specifi c proposals for EU ening the emissions trading scheme,” said energy policy post 2020. Catherine Pearce, EEB Senior Policy Offi cer for “The main pillars of the EU’s energy and cli- Energy Policy. mate policies — the emissions reduction, renew- “The right decisions made now will help save able energy and energy effi ciency targets of 20% money in reduced fuel costs and avoid being — all run out in 2020,” warned Kjaer. “Post 2020 stuck with dirty technologies.” policies need to be put in place without delay.” The low carbon Roadmap was criticised by Providing stability Friends of the Earth (FOE). A week after the Roadmap was published, peo- In a press release, the environmental ple attending the EWEA 2011 Annual Event in group said the low carbon plan to 2050 will Brussels heard that the EU must adopt a binding renewable energy target for 2030 to secure long- term investment in renewable energy. On the opening day of the four-day event, Arthouros Zervos, EWEA President, warned “the

Photo: EWEA wind industry expects to invest some €400 billion in Europe between now and 2030. To do so it needs stable and certain EU energy policy.” Zervos said the sector is facing a policy vacuum after 2020. “We must ensure that the renewable energy targets established in 2001 and 2009 are replicated for the period after 2020 with ambitious 2030 targets. We must ensure that that the success story of renewable energy in Europe survives beyond 2020.” On the third day of EWEA 2011, Commissioner Hedegaard told a press conference: “When we talk about the electricity sector, not the total energy consumption, but electricity, then I think by 2050 we’ll have 100% renewables in Europe. I think that is perfectly doable.” EWEA’s President addresses the EWEA 2011 opening session audience

12 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | low carbon | | EU Roadmap |

“Decision makers must act today and provide the markets with clear signals on technology choice. Due to the long lifetime of fossil fuel power plants (35-45 years for coal and 30-35 years for gas), the commitment by Heads of State means that no new carbon-emitting power plant should be built after 2015.” The report added that an EU regulatory frame- work for the post-2020 period is immediately required. “In order to provide the power sec- tor with the necessary investment stability and predictability, the EU will ideally need to decide during the course of the present Commission and Parliament – that is, by the end of 2014 – on a new regulatory framework for the power sector.” Proposing such a framework, the EWEA report said an ambitious, binding 2030 target for renew- able energy “would give the power sector a vital stepping stone, taking it from an expected 34% renewable electricity in 2020 to 100% renewables by 2050.” The EWEA report also said the most effective

Photo: Getty image way of ensuring a carbon-free power sector by Carbon-emitting power plants must be phased out to reach zero carbon by 2050 2050 would be to ban carbon emissions from new power plants installed after 2015, introduc- ing a technology-neutral EPS of zero grams of

CO2/kWh for new power plants. The EPS would let “The EU must In a report — “EU Energy Policy to 2050” — the market decide the most cost effi cient way of provide the launched at the EWEA 2011 Annual Event, the delivering carbon-free primary energy. association argues that the renewable energy The report also noted that any post-2020 power sector targets set so far have enabled Europe to become legislative framework should include a tighter with a world leader in renewable energy technolo- emission reduction target for the ETS to reach gies, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 95% domestic greenhouse gas reductions by clear trajectory Therefore, the report argues, this successful 2050, preceded by a target of 30% domestic GHG to 2050.” policy should be repeated for the period after reductions by 2020, and further domestic targets 2020, together with the support of an Emissions for 2030, 2040 and 2050. Performance Standard (EPS), and a tighter ETS. “It is clear that the most effective way of Europe today gets approximately 20% of its ensuring that the EU is able to continue reducing electricity from renewable energy sources, includ- its greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020 is ing 5.3% from wind energy, the report noted, to continue an existing, stable, predictable and adding that the Renewable Energy Directive’s 27 successful EU policy by establishing a binding and National Renewable Energy Action Plans indicate ambitious renewable energy target for 2030,” the 34% of the EU’s total electricity consumption will report said. “This policy should be complemented come from renewable energy sources by 2020 with other technology-neutral policies — an ambi- including 14% from wind power. tious EPS and ETS.” “The EU has provided the power sector with a In a development related to the very clear trajectory over the next 10 years,” the Communication on a low carbon future, Energy EWEA report noted. “What is yet to be done is for Commissioner Günther Oettinger was reported the EU to provide the power sector with an equally as saying in March that a hike in the EU’s current clear trajectory to 2050.” binding target of a 20% increase in the share of The European power sector has to have renewables in Europe’s energy porfolio “would ap- achieved zero carbon by 2050 if overall GHGs are pear to be urgent.” to be reduced by 80-95% by mid-century as Heads “We will have a debate and a proposal from of State have promised, the report said. the Commission side for a long-term target for While 2050 may seem a long time from now, it 2030 and 2040 and 2050 and there will be a added, it is only one investment cycle away in the higher target for renewable energy,” Oettinger was power sector. quoted as saying on news website Euractiv. ■

14 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | brussels briefi ng |

A market for ‘cooperation

Photo: Stiftung Offshore WindEnergie mechanisms’ is required

WEA has written to EU Energy Recent consultations have touched on many ECommissioner Günther Oettinger areas relating to power grids urging the European Commission to develop a market for joint renewable energy projects between EU Member States. Work on network codes must be EWEA states that both Italy and Luxembourg intend to use the ‘coop- improved eration mechanisms’ - which include joint projects - set out in the 2009 he European Commission has the substantial shortcoming in view of the Renewable Energy Directive to meet right priorities for network code large part of the electricity demand that T their national renewables targets by development, but work needs to include will be covered by variable renewable 2020. additional topics such as load-frequency sources in the next decades – mainly A market for such mechanisms control and ancillary services, stated wind and solar PV. could “provide the EU with experience EWEA recently. In a response to another consulta- in improving the coordination of national EWEA was responding to a public con- tion that covered network codes, EWEA support mechanisms which could prove sultation from the European Commission commented on the opinion given by the invaluable when designing the post- on the development of network codes for Agency for the Cooperation of Energy 2020 EU legislative framework for 2012 and beyond. Regulators on the transmission system renewable energy”, says EWEA’s letter. Overall, EWEA agrees with the priori- operators’ (ENTSO-E) draft statutes, list It would also help the 20% renewable ties, namely the continuation of the work of members and draft rules of procedure. energy target be met. started in 2011 on capacity allocation EWEA raises several concerns on The market should be developed by and congestion management, grid con- the rules of procedure. One is that the the Commission in cooperation with the nection, system operation and balancing given timeline of 12 months is extremely 15 national governments planning to rules and the new priorities mentioned in short for drafting a robust pan-European exceed their renewables target, Italy and the consultation. network code. Luxembourg, and the wind energy indus- However, EWEA stresses the urgency “A suffi cient timeframe is essential to try, says EWEA. of beginning work on the planned network allow for the necessary in-depth techni- code on load-frequency control and re- cal discussions that take proper account serves this year as some national TSOs, of all specifi cities of the entire power in which this subject is already extremely generation, in particular in view of the up- urgent, could set out their own, differ- coming large-scale integration of variable ing, regional rules without waiting for the renewable electricity generation such as Photo: Gamesa European transmission system operators wind energy”, points out Wilczek. (ENTSO-E) to set harmonised rules. ACER should include the option of “Such a situation would not only make a voluntary consultation process with power generation unnecessarily expensive ENTSO-E and all concerned stakeholders by increasing the necessity for maintaining before the start of the offi cial 12 month locally adapted products and maintaining period and also an optional prolongation staff for interpretation of network codes, of six months on top of the 12 months but it would also cause additional costs for if considered necessary, recommends network operators”, warned Paul Wilczek, EWEA. EWEA’s Regulatory Affairs Advisor. Other issues touched on by EWEA EWEA also said that in terms of include the need to maintain the network the priorities for post-2013, it remains codes more often than the stated every unclear in ENTSO-E’s list which network fi ve years to take account of technical code would cover binding rules on provi- and regulatory progress in all aspects of Joint renewables projects could help sion, procurement, trading and govern- the power system. countries meet their targets ance on ancillary services. This is a

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 15 | brussels briefi ng | Malta is one of the eight EU countries that will be able to apply for free EUAs

windfall profi ts, and the fact that the free allocations start at 70% of 2005 levels and go to zero by 2020 ensures those windfall profi ts will be limited.” Overall, this is equivalent to giving free allocations to 5% of the EU’s elec-

Photo: Creatas tricity production, says Gruet, were all eligible countries to apply for the opt-out. Ten EU countries could apply for EWEA also welcomes the fact that the Communication foresees the use free EUAs for power fi rms of these potential windfall profi ts to fi nance investments in electricity mod- ight eastern European Member Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, ernisation and diversifi cation, and that EStates, plus Cyprus and Malta, will Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and they can be combined with funding from be allowed to apply to the European Romania will be able to give up to 70% of the New Entrants Reserve (the 300 Commission to give free EU Emissions EUAs for free in 2013 (for power plants million allowances set aside for renewa- Trading System (ETS) allowances to invested in before the end of 2008), bles and carbon capture and storage power companies up to 2019. They gradually decreasing to 0% in 2020. projects). will choose whether to do this based EWEA’s Regulatory Affairs Advisor “For the system to work effectively, on benchmark effi ciency fi gures or on Rémi Gruet points out that the risk with the European Commission needs to verifi ed emissions from previous years, free allowances is always that polluters follow the principles spelt out in the

the European Commission said in a pass 100% of the CO2 cost to the cus- guidance documents closely, and take Communication published recently. tomers and get windfall profi ts, but adds: a fi rm stand against Member State Most power fi rms will have to buy ETS “It is good that in its Communication, that might be tempted to let its power allowances (EUAs) in the third phase of the European Commission offi cially industries benefi t from windfall profi ts”, the scheme (2013-2020). But Bulgaria, recognises that free allocations lead to says Gruet.

European Commission fails to put its money where its mouth is he recently published draft 2012 EU “Although the Commission does men- Commission’s proposal to allot more Tbudget puts other sectors before tion in the draft budget that the €115 FP7 funding to ITER, as any risk to the energy. million for research related to energy is already proportionally tiny FP7 energy Referring to the EU’s 2020 strategy “intended” to go towards the SET-Plan budget would have a real impact”, said goals, the European Commission in the technologies, as long as it doesn’t put Radvilaite. presentation of the budget pinpoints that money in the SET-Plan budget line, On a more positive note, the competi- energy as a key policy area, but energy its words have no legal value.” tiveness and innovation programme for would only get 0.5% of the overall EU And while the research programme Intelligent Energy Europe – IEE, which budget - €695.1 million of €147 billion. FP7 is set to get 17.6% more money supports projects the wind industry Perhaps most notably, the committed to it, within FP7 energy pay- is involved in, such as OffshoreGrid Commission stresses the importance ments will only go up by 1.5%. (www.offshoregrid.eu) and SEANERGY of strategic energy technology plan On the other hand, the Commission (www.seanergy2020.eu) - would double (SET-Plan) sectors – which include wind proposes to dramatically increase – by according to the draft budget - taking it energy – but then fails to put any money €750 million - the budget of the nuclear to €79.2 million. into the SET-Plan budget line. ‘ITER’ project. Recently, the European The European Commission is currently “It is extremely disappointing to see Commission also proposed to redeploy preparing its budget outline for the 2014 the European Commission repeat exactly €100 million in 2012 and €360 million – 2020 period which is expected to be what it said last year on the value of the in 2013 from FP7 to fi nance new needs published this summer. EWEA is lobbying SET-Plan, and then once again leave the for the ITER project. to ensure that the SET-Plan’s European dedicated budget line empty”, said Vilma “It is essential that the European Wind Initiative – with a total budget of €6 Radvilaite, EWEA’s Regulator Affairs Advisor. Parliament blocks the European billion over ten years – is funded. ■

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ELECTRIC PITCH SYSTEMS PITCH CONTROL COMPONENTS SLIP RING SOLUTIONS BLADE SENSING SYSTEMS SUPPORT SERVICES | control centre visit | Photo: Iberdrola Getting the detailed view By Sarah Azau

or all their sleekness and modernity, some- also always present, in order to control the grid Fthing about today’s wind turbines will always and coordinate with other control centres and recall the design of the grain mills, symbols of a with Spain’s transmission system operator, Red mostly distant agricultural past, which inspired Eléctrica. The staff at CORE – who are mostly them. However onlookers might be surprised to young and live locally - monitor 6,000 turbines, learn than every part of each of those deceptively with a combined capacity of about 6,150 MW. simple-looking machines is in fact being rigorously Another 350 MW of hydro, solar thermal and bio- monitored, 24 hours a day, thanks to some of the mass are also followed from the CORE. most cutting-edge technology around. I was able to see this for myself in February Smooth running this year when I went to Spain to visit Iberdrola’s CORE’s director, Gustavo Moreno, explains that Renewable Energies Operations Centre (or each of the 6,000 turbines sends 300 different ‘CORE’, as it is known) with the company’s “signals” to the centre every few seconds. That Vicente Trullench Arenas. means the three members of staff on duty have a “The aim of the CORE is to monitor the total of 1,800,000 signals to keep their eyes on turbines’ performance, centralise information – from the temperature of all the different turbine to solve any problems as quickly as possible to components to the performance of the electric reduce operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, substation. “On the wall, a and provide forecasts on power output to the On the wall of the centre, a giant plasma grid operator”, Trullench explains in the train on screen maps all the wind farms in a particular plasma screen the way to the UNESCO World Heritage town of area, lit up red or green to indicate whether they maps all the Toledo, near Madrid, where CORE is situated. are running or not. Each also has a thermometer- In practise, that means the centre’s computers like icon next to it to indicate at a glance the cur- wind farms, lit receive electronic information in real time from rent capacity factor – that is, what percentage of red or green the wind farms on performance, power output and the potential electricity is being produced. various other subjects. Moreno clicks on one of the wind farms, to indicate Thirty members of staff work at the centre, showing me how you can zoom into it and see whether they with groups of three people, who monitor the all the turbines. You can then click again and get incoming data, working in shifts around the a cross-section of a particular turbine, with all are running.” clock. A shift supervisor – a trained engineer - is the information such as the angle of the blade,

18 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | control centre visit |

the number of revolutions per minute. Each of the 300 elements that are monitored per turbine has its own alarm which is lit up red if there is a problem. “Depending on the type of problem, we can either re-start the turbine directly from here, or we can send O&M people out to the wind farm”, explains Moreno. Altogether, he estimates that around 300 Gustavo Moreno (second turbines face a problem every day, out of the from right) with his 6,000, but there are some days with no problems team at work in the CORE at all. Around 40% of those issues can be solved directly from the CORE, making considerable Photo: Iberdrola savings. The CORE also monitors the substations connecting the wind farms to the power grid and checks they are running smoothly. When technicians do have to go to the wind farm, CORE follows what work is going on where, so all the other turbines in the farm can remain operational. They have cameras at all the wind farms so they can be sure the technicians get to the farm without an issue, and follow the progress of the maintenance team. When I was there, parts of northern Spain were still covered in snow; had the team needed to get through, the cameras would have allowed them to know beforehand which roads were clear.

Looking forward The planning of the operations and maintenance CORE is situated in Toledo, near Madrid work is helped by the detailed wind forecasts Photo: Stockphoto CORE provides. It sends such forecasts to Red problems before they arise. Iberdrola is also able Eléctrica 48 hours in advance, and then consoli- to make recommendations to the manufacturers dates the information with hourly updates. whose turbines they survey if they notice a com- “We have meteorological towers that con- monly recurring fault or trend. vert the amount of wind forecast into predicted electricity. That way we can sell the electricity to Joining the network Red Eléctrica, who knows how much power wind The CORE is one of about 20 control centres in energy will provide over the next two days and can Spain, run by various companies. The centres plan accordingly”, says Moreno. provide their input, updated every 12 seconds, As part of the 2009 Renewable Energy to Red Eléctrica’s central Control Centre for Directive, EU countries must grant ‘priority dis- Renewable Energies (CECRE). This allows renew- patch’ to renewables. That means that, when pow- able energy to be integrated into the grid under er from renewable sources is available, it must secure conditions by controlling output and an- be used. The transmission system operators can ticipating any sudden losses in power generation. only ask for renewables to be curtailed – that is, Based on the overall information received on the stopped or turned down - if there is a safety risk. active and reactive power, voltage and connectiv- “Around 40% Perhaps most impressive for me was to see ity of Spain’s wind farms and other renewable of turbine the bar showing what percentage of Spain’s elec- energy plants at the CECRE, Red Eléctrica passes tricity was being covered by wind energy in real data to the producers of power from conventional problems can time. When I was there it was about 31%; this sources, which have to modify the power they sup- be solved can get up to 40% or more some nights in winter. ply to the grid. The huge amount of information gathered by This maximises the renewable energy in the directly from the CORE is put to good use. There is a centre Spanish system, and is one of the reasons the control in Madrid devoted to predictive maintenance, Spain is at the forefront in Europe in terms where CORE data is studied to be able to identify of renewables. ■ centre.”

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www.gamesacorp.com | interview | Photo: EWEA/Bickley “If we meet our offshore wind target, the target was set too low”

Dermot Grimson is responsible for external relations at the UK’s Crown Estate which manages the country’s seabed and is in charge of the leasing rounds for offshore wind farms. He spoke to Chris Rose.

What is the current situation for offshore wind in diffi cult target but our domestic production of the UK? gas is going down quite considerably. There is a The current position is we’ve had Rounds 1 and nuclear programme but there’s all sorts of barri- 2 and Round 3 and Scottish Territorial Waters. ers delivering a nuclear programme. Therefore the Rounds 1 and 2 are progressing UK government and the [offshore very slowly and because of this, in “There are all wind] industry has to go as far as Round 3 we are being much more sorts of barriers we can to meet those targets. proactive, we are investing in ex- cess of [€114] million in what we delivering a nuclear What are the barriers and can call enabling actions to accelerate programme.” they be overcome? the development of Round 3. We encourage the setting up of something called the offshore wind development What are your thoughts about the future for off- forum. This is made up of senior executives from shore wind in the UK? offshore companies, chaired by the UK energy I think the fi rst thing to say is it is what the UK minister and there’s a co-chair from the industry. needs — a strong energy mix. Gas has played a One of the jobs of that group is to overcome the big role in that in the past and will continue to do barriers. so for quite a while. And we see offshore wind in The fi rst one is the grid; it’s a huge challenge. particular, but also wave and tidal, as having an I think we are in a better state than we were six important part to play in the energy mix as we months ago. I think it is deliverable but it’s tough move forward, from 2020 onwards. So we don’t though. We’ve commissioned a number of studies see the wind energy source as exclusive, but we into how best the grid issue might be addressed. do see it as an important part of the energy mix. We’re reasonably confi dent it’ll be okay. The ambition is to have about one-third of the The supply chain is another barrier; we have UK’s electricity provided from offshore wind by 2020, organised a series of supply chain events around so we’re looking for those projects to be either oper- the UK. The UK supply chain in offshore energy is “Wind is an ating or under construction by 2020. We are looking very strong in the oil and gas industry, particularly at 47.7 gigawatts by 2020, up from 2 GW today. in the northeast of Scotland and the northeast important part of England. So the supply chain is there but will of the energy Is that a realistic goal? need orders in order to allow it to invest, but those If we meet that target the target was set too low. orders are not coming through yet. When they do, mix.” That’s the way we have to look at it. It’s a very we feel the supply chain is ready to move fairly fast

22 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | interview |

— it’s well aware of the opportunity that is there. Does the UK offshore wind sector have a problem “The markets However the big barrier is fi nance, probably the of public acceptance? toughest. Just now the UK government is under- No, in the general public there are concerns from need to be taking a review of the energy markets and will time to time about visual amenity when it comes convinced be coming out with some ideas of how it’s going close to shore but not that many. I think the big- to support the delivery of low-carbon affordable gest issue is other sea users — shipping, fi shing, there’s a good energy, but that has undoubtedly caused some oil and gas — and that’s one of the reasons why chance of a uncertainty and I’d say over the past six months in Round 3 we defi ned very large zones to enable there’s been a slowdown in activity. some fl exibility to take into account other uses or decent return.” environmental constraints. I think the zonal ap- And when might those results come out? proach is a way to overcome those concerns and We’re expecting them in early summer. I think it’s we’ve had very good discussions with the oil and getting down to the details so that investors un- gas, shipping and fi shing industries. derstand what supports there are, the longevity of that support. There’ve been a lot of signals from The UK is now the world leader in offshore capac- government that current commitments will be ity. Why is it so successful? honoured so the risks shouldn’t be too great. The We are an island with a very large wind resource. markets need to be convinced Our gas reserves are becom- there’s a good solid chance of a ing depleted fairly rapidly and decent return. “We have an energy we have in the UK a very strong strategy that’s expertise in sub-sea technology When you’re talking about the so we know that business and our grid do you mean the supergrid or reasonably clear up companies know that business. the existing grid? to 2015, less clear I’m talking about fi xing the exist- Are there any problems with gen- ing grid. The existing grid needs up to 2020 and erating radar interference? fi xing anyway, irrespective of off- extremely opaque There have been problems and shore wind and requires a lot of there continue to be. We’ve actu- investment. I think the supergrid beyond that.” ally invested in radar technology is different. The supergrid is in a to overcome the problem. We sense provides the opportunity to take offshore think the answer to the radar issue is there. It’s wind to a much higher level. We’re [currently] the type of thing we are keen to invest in; any- talking more than 40 gigawatts; if we’re talking thing that can remove the source of a problem or supergrid it could be an awful lot more than that. accelerate a solution. [for more on radar issues, The supergrid could help other European coun- see p. 42] tries meet their CO2 targets and some of their energy targets. And it will bring down the costs of What other issues need to be addressed? offshore wind. So the supergrid creates an oppor- I think it’s the longer term industrial strategy. tunity but the grid needs fi xing now just to deliver We have an energy strategy that’s reasonably “The existing what’s on the table. clear up to 2015, less clear up to 2020 and extremely opaque beyond that. We need a 10- grid needs Are there any special administrative procedures year rolling programme to take us to 2020. By fi xing anyway, for offshore wind in the UK? 2014, we need to understand what will happen The previous government set up an infrastructure by 2025, and so on. So a clear line of sight is irrespective of planning commission and its job was to deliver we want to get rather than just picking numbers offshore wind.” government policy through the planning and for 2050. ■ consenting process, particularly for large projects and to do it quickly. It was aimed at things like the What is the Crown Estate? Heathrow third runway, nuclear power stations and offshore wind. The new government came in and The Crown Estate belongs to the Queen of England but is managed by an decided to scrap the infrastructure planning com- independent UK commercial organisation. It manages assets on behalf mission, make it part of government, but they did of the Treasury including over half of the foreshore and all the country’s promise it would operate a streamlined process seabed out to 12 nautical mile limit beyond which you enter international as well. It remains to be seen whether that can waters. be delivered.

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 23 24 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | country focus |

In 2011, Wind Directions will take a look at a selection of wind A closer look at energy markets across Europe and beyond. Norway... By Zoë Casey

ith 83,000 kilometres of rugged Wcoastline characterised by huge fjords and hundreds of islands, and wind resources considered to be among the best in Europe, Norway is a promising player in the wind energy market. While some 98% of the country’s electricity is already renewable - produced from hydroelectric power plants – Norway has made its mark in the wind energy sector at the very cutting edge of offshore wind power technology. In June 2009, the Siemens 2.3 megawatt ‘Hywind’ turbine – the world’s fi rst grid-connected oat-fl ing offshore turbine – was put up off the Photo: iStockphoto Norwegian coast. Two years on and the turbine is “performing much better than the government is also considering where electricity by 2020. That, in addition to expected,” said Øistein Schmidt Galaaen, to locate large scale offshore wind farms. the Certifi cate System, stands to boost Director of Norwea, the Norwegian wind, Some zones have been identifi ed but no Norway’s wind power capacity by enhanc- wave and tidal association. “Our pride, the signifi cant developments are expected ing investor confi dence. Hywind turbine, has exceeded expectations before 2020. Norway is already a net exporter of by producing reliably and well throughout Norway is set to join the Swedish energy, but it still depends on imported 2010, including the astonishing equivalent Certifi cate System (a market based energy from Europe for signifi cant periods of 4,800 full load hours [or a capacity fac- support system to assist the expansion throughout the year. If wind power was tor of almost 55%] in March,” he said. of electricity production from renewable expanded, it could start meeting domes- Over recent years wind installations energy in Sweden) on 1 January 2012, tic demand with wind, while exporting in Norway have fl uctuated. During 2010, which is likely to lead to a number of new hydro-powered electricity to Europe. “We 18.4 MW were installed, bringing the total wind energy projects. Galaaen described sense a keen interest to utilise Norwegian to 435.6 MW. However, in 2009 only the this move as a “major breakthrough for hydropower reserves to balance European 2.3 MW fl oating turbine was installed. anyone involved in the Norwegian wind wind power via the planned North Sea 2008 was a bigger year for wind power market.” Some 26.4 TWh of new renewa- grid, but there is simply no way we can with 100 MW installed. By 2025 some ble energy production in both Norway and provide those services without having 21 terrawatt hours of wind energy are Sweden is expected in the 2012-2O20 more wind power for domestic consump- “technically feasible” with the existing period, of which at least 50% could be tion,” Galaaen said. electricity grid and planned extensions, produced by wind power, he said. With an expansion in Norway’s renewa- explained Galaaen. Although outside of the European ble energy the country could export green While most wind farms are planned for Union, Norway is bound to the EU’s electricity to EU Member States, helping the windy coastline, recent reports show Renewable Energy Directive meaning that Europe to meet its 2020 energy targets. that Norway has huge potential for inland the country will need to meet specifi c Interconnecting electricity cables are wind power developments. “This is where targets for renewable energy. While these already planned by Statnett – Norway’s we expect the second wave of project de- are not yet set, it is certain that Norway Transmission System Operator - with velopment,” Galaaen outlined. Meanwhile, needs to produce 25 TWh of renewable the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Privately-funded cables are also under Norway – the wind energy facts consideration. Norway is currently negotiating with the European Commission on implementing INSTALLED WIND ENERGY CAPACITY ...... 435.6 MW the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, which BIGGEST ENERGY SOURCE ...... hydroelectric would result in Norway having an ambitious WORLD’S FIRST . . . . grid-connected fl oating turbine launched in Norway in 2009 renewable energy target for 2020. ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 25 | wind worker | Wind worker Meeting some of the over 200,000 people who make the European wind industry tick.

Dirk Buschmann, offshore manager at Alpha Ventus wind farm, E.ON

lpha Ventus is Germany’s fi rst offshore wind What does a typical day involve? Afarm, situated in the North Sea 45 km north A typical day offshore starts early in the morning of the island of Borkum, and 75 km off the main- with a 2.5 hour boat transfer from our basis port land. It consists of twelve turbines of 5 MW each. Norddeich to Alpha Ventus which is situated 75 kilometres from the mainland. Once we reach the What does your job involve? turbines, our working day starts: we do mainte- My job involves monitoring and maintenance of nance on the turbines for approx seven to eight Alpha Ventus. This includes the monitoring and hours. As for the typical maintenance work on the maintenance of the twelve offshore wind turbines offshore wind turbines it doesn’t differ very much as well as the offshore substation. It also means from the work onshore, only that it’s happening a lot of time spent on the boat transfer to our on turbines that stand in the midst of the ocean offshore farm with our maintenance boat “Wind with no mainland in sight! In the late afternoon Force I” or alternatively, in case of bad weather, our catamaran “Wind Force I” takes us back to transfer by helicopter to get the harbour. there. A further part, the Do you work in teams? “paper part” of my job, Yes, at least three people have to work in a team is to work out the op- on a wind turbine. This is an important health and erations time schedule for safety rule to grant the safety of all workers in our service technicians this challenging offshore environment. In case a and to check the health colleague suffers an injury or gets into a danger- certifi cates. Moreover I’m ous situation there must be at least two further responsible for creating team workers who can rescue him. the passengers list for all offshore trips. This list How much time do you spend on-site? has to be handed out to One day offshore means eight to nine work- the federal police and the ing hours and around fi ve to six hours of boat customs authorities, which transfer to Alpha Ventus and back. Going by is very important since helicopter is a much faster, but quite expensive we leave German territory alternative we only recur to if weather condi- every time we go offshore. tions don’t allow access to the offshore wind farm by boat. How long have you been in the wind energy industry? What is your favourite part of the job? I have been working in One of my favourite parts of the job is the mo-

Photo: E.ON the wind industry since ment immediately after the inspection and main- 1995 starting with a job as a service technician tenance of a wind turbine. It’s the moment when at “Tacke Windservice” which is now part of the system restarts and you can read “failure- “GE wind”. Afterwards I worked for NEG Micon free system” on the display and the turbine “A typical day and Vestas. In 2008 I applied for a job in the starts running. offshore starts Operations & Maintenance department of RWE Innogy Germany. Since 2010 I’ve been working as Do you have a least favourite part of the job? early with a a Technical Asset Manager offshore within E.ON Sometimes the boat transfer is really hard due to 2.5 hour boat Climate & Renewables, the E.ON daughter that the high waves and the long time it takes. But as handles E.ON’s global for myself I’m very lucky, I’ve never fallen seasick transfer.” renewables business. unlike some of my offshore colleagues.

26 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | wind worker |

Fermín Dueñas, control centre front offi ce manager, Acciona Energy

cciona Energy’s control centre monitors more Athan 9,000 MW of renewable energy facilities – nearly 8,200 of them in wind power– located in 14 countries. Fermín Dueñas manages the centre’s front offi ce.

What does your job involve? My objective is to ensure that the control centre fulfi ls its mission, works effi ciently, and that the installations it controls are managed and oper- ated correctly. How long have you been in the wind energy industry and why did you start working in it? I started in the industry at the end of 2000, so I have been in the sector for just over 10 years. When I joined the company it was making a strong commitment to the development of wind power, mainly in the region where I lived. It was an innovative sector in technological terms so I considered it an attractive option for my career development.

Did you always have this role in the wind industry? I have always worked in activities related to the control centre. It is an area that I enjoy, and so far Photo: Acciona/J. Campos it has allowed me to acquire very good knowl- edge and an overall vision of the process of wind in the technical team in the centre, so teamwork energy exploitation. is an element that we attach great importance to. I started work in the control centre as an It is a very enriching experience being part of operational technician, and have since been such a wide-ranging and heterogeneous team. gradually promoted to my current post of Front Offi ce Manager. What is your favourite part of the job? The satisfaction of working in an important area What does a typical day involve? for the company and actively contributing to help- I usually begin by checking the state of all the ing the business go well. installations and their main operating parameters Perhaps the most interesting area for me is or indicators, and then share this information maximising the integration of wind energy into the with my colleagues in the control centre and the electric power system. This area has undergone management. great development in recent years. Furthermore, I also coordinate the main programmed actions control centres are a key factor in the process, or operations and cover the management needs and perhaps involve the strongest research and of the control centre, deal with any problems that development element. arise and lay down criteria or strategies to be fol- lowed depending situations at any given time. Do you have a least favourite part of the job? The work is ongoing, so it is diffi cult to obtain the Do you work in teams, what is the structure? same satisfaction as successfully completing Teamwork is essential to what we do. Our opera- a project that you have programmed and man- tional team controls, operates and supervises the aged personally. Although it does not occur very “Teamwork is safety/security of the company’s operations in often, the worst thing is when we have an incident essential to real time 24/7 for 365 days a year. We depend to or problem that we cannot solve as fast as we a great extent on the rapport and communication would like. ■ what we do.”

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 27 | fi rst person |

“If you can involve the quality and reliability are hugely important for the wind energy industry. There is a series of processes to ensure quality control. citizens in decision- “ABB is concerned with the electrical side of the wind energy industry and we adapt to what is needed as the industry develops. We can supply making you get better the whole range of what is needed for offshore wind energy, for example – converter stations, cables, connections and so on. local acceptance” “The vision of a European ‘supergrid’ is interest- ing. I believe it can happen – but to what extent? We Claus Madsen, Country Manager for Denmark at ABB, will be limited by fi nancing not by technology. And we need the politicians to agree on it. spoke with Sarah Azau about the his time in the industry, “The project at Kriegers Flak – offshore wind standardising offshore wind farms and why the Danish still farms linking Denmark and Germany - would have lot of things a supergrid needs. For example, the ability love wind energy. These are excerpts of that interview. to generate offshore wind power, send it to the right market, send electricity to the different countries. “In terms of wind energy markets – it’s boom- ing in Asia, mostly in China. The US is also a big market. “There are other markets on their way, but none the size of China with political will and the fi nancial power to massively develop wind energy. But there are smaller markets that are now moving in South America, eastern Europe. There is also lots of dis- cussion on offshore wind. “In my personal opinion, offshore wind energy is signifi cant because public opinion becomes a different story. When you put up a wind farm 105 km from shore in German waters you can’t object on grounds of property value.

Photo: ABB “But the challenge offshore is the cost. To overcome that maybe it would make sense to ’ve been working in the wind business for ten have a pan-European discussion on standardising “Iyears now. I came from the automotive indus- offshore wind farms. At the moment, offshore wind try and it can be interesting to compare the way farms are very unique to a specifi c developer. If a it developed with the development of wind energy European regime could be put in place saying we industry. build offshore farms of ‘X’ size, at ‘X’ km from the “Just after 2000, Danish manufacturers were fol- shore, that would reduce cost. For example, at the lowing a variety of strategies, but whatever they tried moment each offshore wind farm requires a unique always worked as it was such a booming market build platform, but this is expensive. – that was the heyday for wind energy – there was “That said, onshore wind is certainly not dead almost a competition to see who could bring out the – there are opportunities for repowering for exam- next turbine faster. It was paradise for the technical ple. Here in Denmark, some cities would like more geeks! turbines, in some they don’t. It works on a very local “Now, the industry has now matured and become level. If you can involve the local citizens in decision- more global – wind energy is now seen as main- making you get better local acceptance. stream, and it is a globalised business. “There is some opposition to wind energy in “What I now see is that people view wind parks Denmark but in general there is very strong public as power plants. We can start looking at legislation support – the government and industry are good “It was paradise on power plants and ask, can it apply to wind? in explaining the benefi ts of wind energy such as “We can also try and learn from other mature less CO , also that it is good business for Denmark. for the technical 2 businesses and apply the lessons to the wind The politicians and stakeholders have an ongoing geeks!” industry. Certainly what you really see now is that dialogue with the Danish citizens.” ■

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The quiet wind energy star

Bereft of any real conventional fuel sources, overly dependent on imports, Portugal turned to its winds and rivers. Today, it gets more of its electricity from wind energy than any country except Denmark. Sarah Azau went to Lisbon and Porto to fi nd out how this came about, which obstacles remain, and what will happen next.

ortugal has been in the news rather a lot more, Portugal combines its wind energy with Precently. And not necessarily for the happiest hydro power – and some biomass - to reach reasons, after it followed Greece and Ireland in a level of 45% of electricity from renewable requesting a bailout from the EU. But less pub- sources today. licised is the fact that this small country on the Despite the current political uncertainty, with western edge of Europe is a major wind energy general elections about to take place, Portugal success story, with far-sighted legislation and a has stated its aim to have 6,900 MW of wind en- home-grown industry which has remained largely ergy capacity by 2020, providing 23% of electric- buoyant in the recent choppy fi nancial waters. ity. Altogether, renewables should provide 55% of While Spain and Denmark are more frequently electricity by then. cited for their strong support for wind energy, Why and how has this small country – which the Portuguese are (just) ahead of the Spanish for most foreigners is associated more readily “Portugal gets – although still way behind the Danes - in terms with beach holidays than turbines – become the of the amount of their electricity that comes from quiet wind energy star of Europe? 45% of its wind, at 14.8%. At the end of 2010, there were electricity from 3,898 MW of wind energy capacity installed in Working for independence Portugal – all onshore, and mostly in the moun- While having North Sea oil or coal deposits on renewables.” tainous, sparsely populated north-east. What is their doorstep may have temporarily blinded some

30 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | focus |

2001 set a goal of 3,750 MW by 2010. Some “Getting small and medium sized businesses recognised permits to that there was business potential and by 2003-4 the sector was taking off.” build wind In 2004, the Portuguese transmission system farms is one operator included wind energy deployment in its grid development plans – for Estanquiero, this of the bigger was a crucial step - and in 2005, Portugal raised obstacles for its wind energy target to 5,100 MW by 2013 to help meet its Kyoto emissions reduction goal. the sector.” In 2005, the government launched a major call for tenders for grid connection for wind en- ergy projects. The areas selected for wind power development were carefully chosen, with a good wind resource and grid connection capacity. The call also included contracts between wind farm and hydro plant owners in order to ensure the possibility of electricity storage. The company with the biggest share of installed renewables in Portugal today is its former state-run utility, Energia Do Portugal (EDP), which has a renewables wing, EDP Renováveis (EDPR). Gabriel Nebreda Molinero, Head of Business Development for onshore wind energy at EDPR, believes this call for tenders in 2005 was one of the main drivers of wind energy growth. “The calls were for 900 MW – later put up to 1,200 MW - and 600 MW of wind energy capac- ity”, he explains. At the same time, the existing support scheme – a Feed-in Tariff (FIT), meaning the owner of renewable energy plant is paid a set amount for Photo: Enercon the electricity produced - was modifi ed: wind energy projects were to get 7.4€cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of power produced for a duration of 15 countries to the potential of renewables, Portugal years. has very little in the way of conventional energy “The FIT is clearly part of the success story of resources. In fact, imports of coal, oil and gas Portugal”, believes Nebreda. “It gives predictabil- once made up around half of its trade defi cit. ity to the investors and meant installations have From around 2000, the country decided to focus increased at a stable rate”. more on indigenous, renewable sources of energy to reduce that defi cit, and this decision was con- solidated in 2005 by the government of former A brief overview of wind energy development in Portugal prime minister José Sócrates. Ana Estanquiero is a researcher specialising in wind energy integration for the Portuguese govern- 1988: First wind farm built on Madeira Island ment’s Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia. 1996: First wind farm built on mainland Portugal “Portugal had a tradition of renewable en- 2001: The government’s E4 programme (for “energy effi ciency and en- ergy, as it had been using hydro power from the dogenous energies”) sets a target of 3,750 MW for wind by 2010 1970s”, she says. “Wind energy started to be 2005: Public call for tenders for 1,200 MW and 600 MW of grid developed a bit later – by 2000 all the major po- connections for wind farms litical parties supported the development of wind 2011: Portugal reaches 4,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity energy, and the fi rst renewable energy directive in

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 31 | focus |

Environmental permitting issues still dog some wind farm projects Photo: Luis Marinho

To ensure local support for wind energy, the mu- “There is not much NIMBYism here”, agrees nicipality hosting the wind farm was to get 2% of Nebreda. “Wind farms are typically located in the power producer’s monthly remuneration. less developed, more isolated areas and they For Estanquiero, Portugal’s successful devel- are a means of income for those renting out opment of wind energy is largely thanks to this their land to the developers.” vision for renewables – consolidated in the FIT Estanquiero agrees that “everyone in the and call for tenders – on the part of the transmis- interior of the country either has a piece of land sion system operator (TSO) and the government’s on which there’s a wind farm or has a cousin or a directorate of energy. friend who does. And this is usually on land where “Portugal also had some very active wind nothing grew – it was unprofi table, so now the power plant developers who sometimes had to wind energy brings extra income”. fi ght to get permits, and who didn’t give up”, In fact, the developers say, the only real lo- she adds. cal opposition has come from “tourists”– often British, German or Dutch – who own second Barring the route homes, usually in the Algarve region in the While many developers’ persistence in waiting south-west of the country. to get permits has paid off, the issue of getting Ferreira does point out, though, that the permits to build wind farms is still cited as one of recent fi nancial diffi culties have led to a 3% the bigger obstacles for the sector in Portugal. increase in the price of electricity. He says “The licensing procedure, particularly in terms there has been muttering in some areas due to of the environmental conditions, has always the media peddling the idea that this is due to been diffi cult”, explains Miguel de Vasconcelos renewables, “when in fact the oil and gas prices Ferreira, executive board member at Portuguese have increased far more.” renewable energy consultants MEGAJOULE, The other major barrier to further wind energy around 50% of whose work is in the country. “Of development, he says, is the allocation of grid course we need to have an environmental policy, capacity. but sometimes it’s applied quite restrictively and “You cannot say ‘I want to build a wind farm inconsistently – and sometimes there are even in Portugal’ and just apply for a grid connection. confl icts between municipalities who want wind You have to wait for the next call for tenders “Imports of energy projects and the national environment from the government. But at the moment we agency saying no.” don’t know when that will be.” coal, oil and However, the general consensus is that this gas once made has got a little better over time as environmen- Gridlock talists and wind energy developers have learned The power grid is a limiting factor for many up around half to work together, and most positively of all, there countries, but is a particularly pressing problem of Portugal’s is very little of the local resistance seen in other in Portugal given its position on the periphery of EU countries from a Portuguese people which is Europe. The ‘Iberian Pensinsula’ – that is, Spain trade defi cit.” largely supportive of renewable energy. and Portugal – is notoriously poorly linked to the

32 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | focus |

rest of mainland Europe, with not even a quarter Portuguese politics of the estimated 4 GW of interconnection capac- ity needed currently in place between and Spain. This means that nearly all the power On 23 March Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Sócrates resigned after produced in Portugal stays in Portugal, whereas parliament rejected an austerity budget. In early April, it was also an- in theory a good connection with, for example, nounced that the country had followed Greece and Ireland in asking the nearby Morocco would allow Portugal and Spain for fi nancial assistance. to export wind power when they don’t need it, The elections in Portugal will be held on 5 June. However, both the and to import solar or wind power from North two major political parties – the Socialists currently in power and the Africa when they need more. centre-right Social-Democrats, are considered supportive of wind energy. Ferreira points out that at the moment, the only way to incorporate the 6,900 MW of wind en- ergy planned by the government for 2020 into the Portuguese national grid would be to accept some its aim to develop standards for smart grids in level of stoppage of the wind turbines in periods place by 2012, Portugal’s ‘Inovgrid’ project is a when winds are strong (so wind power production real demonstration of a working smart grid in the is generally higher), but consumption is low – historical university town of Évora. which can happen for example at night. A ‘smart grid’ delivers electricity from suppliers “We have to create infrastructural conditions to consumers using two-way digital communica- to build more wind”, says Estanquiero. “In the tions to control appliances at consumers’ homes. meantime, we shouldn’t give many more grid per- This can be coupled with ‘smart meters’, which mits to wind projects because we don’t have the allow the customer to see exactly how power they infrastructure in place”. are consuming, and at what price, at any one Another way of using some of the extra wind time. The Commission has estimated that smart power at night could be to pump water uphill into grids could reduce annual household energy con- storage dams, but for now Portugal uses ‘run of sumption by 10%, which would save consumers the river’ hydro, whose fl ow is pulled by the natu- around €60 per year on average. ral gravity in the water’s current rather needing to António Messias, member of the board of di- be pumped uphill. rectors at Inovgrid ACE, is involved in Inovgrid for “We shouldn’t For the time being, however, the power grid is EDP, alongside other partners such as Siemens give many more likely to put a limit on Portugal’s ambitions for and SSE. wind energy growth. He takes me to Évora – whose old town, inside grid permits to the 14th century city walls, is made up of winding, wind projects Looking smart cobbled lanes and houses painted white, yellow One solution Portugal is already working on – and and green. However, despite the medieval appear- because we another area in which the country is ahead of the ance, and the almost palpable sense of timeless- don’t have the game – is the development of a ‘smart grid’ sys- ness, the town boasts one of the most cutting- tem. While the European Commission has stated edge power systems in the world. infrastructure.”

Wind farms are mostly found in poorer, rural areas of Portugal

WINDWINWWIIINND DIDDIRECTIONSIRECRREECECTTIOTIIOIONSNS | JJuJunJuneuunnee2 220110110101111 33 Photo: Luis Marinho | focus |

These medieval buildings in Keeping an eye on power Évora are endowed with cutting In an information centre run by EDP in the centre edge power systems of Évora, visitors and locals can fi nd out about Inovgrid and ask any questions they might have. Each consumer is provided with a black ‘energy box’ responsible for metering, remote operation and control of the power supply to the customer. This connects with a ‘Distribution Transformer Control’ and then to the central power system, which manages all the information. The customer can see their tariff rate and consumption for free on the energy box or by logging onto EDP’s website. If they wish, they can also buy one of the several monitors on sale from various different companies to have a more userfriendly interface and one which also allows them to turn off electrical appliances from afar. In Évora, there are 54,000 inhabitants, which translates, Messias explains, as 31,000 power Photo: Luis Marinho customers. Based on feedback, it is estimated that customers in Évora have made overall savings Indeed, Messias explains that the idea of combin- of 9-12% on power bills – which corresponds to the ing the new with the old was part of the reason European Commission’s fi gure – but there will only Évora was chosen for the project. be verifi ed fi gures later this year. “That and the fact that the mix of customers In the meantime, the stories speak for refl ects the national average means Évora is a themselves. At the Cafétaria Vinil on the central strong ‘brand’”, he says, adding with a smile that square, where an electric display on the wall the UK’s Prince Charles came to visit the project shows power consumption in real time, the the previous week. waitress tells us she saw how The Inovgrid project is the much she was paying to keep fi rst time a smart grid has been “Customers have the coffee cups heated on the combined with the possibility top of the espresso machine, for micro-generation – meaning made savings of and turned off that switch. someone who has photovoltaic 9-12% on their She also no longer leaves the panels or their own small wind dishwasher on stand-by as she turbine can sell the power they power bills.” was surprised to see how much produce back to the grid – and a power it used. We switch off and network of electric vehicles. For on the café’s television set and Évora is also a test centre for Portugal’s ambi- watch the fi gures on the display go down and tious plans for electric cars. up again. By pressing the right buttons on the

A sense of control

Like Iberdrola in Spain (see p .18), EDP has a system operators in different countries, and control centre – in Porto - from which it moni- the Portuguese TSO, ‘REN’, can send curtail- tors its turbines – in this case, 5,020 of them ment orders if the wind power available exceeds around the world. These represent 37 models demand. from 11 different manufacturers, all of which EDP are also using the data to prepare are monitored 24 hours a day, with information ‘reports’ on various different subjects, – such as wind speed and power output - sent such as the ‘top ten faults’ for a particular to the control centre at fi ve second intervals. area or model of turbine. Based on this EDP staff at the centre exchange infor- they can make recommendations to the mation with transmission and distribution manufacturer.

34 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | focus |

display, you can also look at past data – we see average, wave height on the Atlantic is twice that of that two days ago – on Sunday, when the café the North Sea. was shut - overall consumption was, logically, However, through a project called ‘Windfl oat’, next to nothing. EDP and other partners – including Vestas – hope Similarly, Messias tells me that the town’s to fi nd a solution to the problem by building a new museum was looking at its power use and saw a type of fl oating platform. Unlike the Hywind and peak at 6am it couldn’t explain. other fl oating concepts, ‘Windfl oat’ is based on “Then they realised the security guard was designs from the oil industry. It is a triangle, with switching everything on at once, causing a surge, the wind turbine fi tted onto one of the corners. and they asked him to switch one thing on at a The whole platform is ‘semisubmersible’ – that is, time instead.” put partially under water, with more water inside the platform as a ‘ballast’ to weigh it down and Driving around provide stability. Messias takes me to see one of the nine charg- “We have been working on the ‘Windfl oat’ ing points for electric vehicles already installed since 2009”, says João Gonçalo Maciel, Head in Évora. Placed next to the meters in a car park of Technology Development at EDP Inovaçao. right by the central square, the charging point is a “In August of this year, we plan to have fi nished small white column with a keypad and a screen. building the fi rst full-scale prototype WindFloat. “You have a card, like a credit card, and you The unit will then be towed out to the test site swipe it in front of the sensor and put in the PIN. 4km offshore from Aguçadoura, in the north of This opens the socket compartment so you can Portugal.” The project partners will then carry out plug in the car”, he says. tests on the system for no less than 12 months. The current technology takes a short amount of Gonçalo believes the ‘Windfl oat’ platform could time – potentially around 30 minutes - to charge be commercially available between 2015 and the car, depending on the battery, and a fully 2020 and will be suitable for water depths greater charged battery should run for around 120 km. than 50 metres – ideally suited, then, to the The EDP staff in Évora have an electric car and 60-80 metres of water depth in which it would be motorbike and use them to drive around the town placed off Portugal’s coast. during the day, only re-charging at night. Portugal’s renewable energy action plan “We aim to have 20 charging points installed foresees the fi rst 500 MW of offshore wind in Evora in the next 12 months, and 1,350 points power coming online between 2019 and 2020. If by the end of this year in Portugal”, says Messias. Windfl oat is successful and on the market in the The national government wants 160,000 electric next few years, this could happen even faster. vehicles to be operational in the country by 2020. For the Inovgrid project, 2011 is a crucial year: the energy regulator is to decide on the investments for 2012 to 2014, and Messias estimates that rolling out smart grids in the whole

of Portugal would cost between €600 and €1,000 Diagram: EDP million. Unfortunately, Portugal is not in a healthy fi nancial situation at the moment. It remains to be seen whether the next government is able to invest now in view of the future savings smart grids would bring.

A sea of possibilities If Portugal has plenty of onshore wind energy installed, it has yet to put up any turbines offshore. The major reason for this is the geographical par- ticularity of the Atlantic Ocean which, unlike Europe’s northern waters – home to more turbines every year – becomes very deep extremely quickly. This makes it diffi cult to put up today’s standard offshore wind turbines, whose foundations rest on, or in, the seabed. What is more, conditions on the ocean are more of a challenge: Estanquiero points out that on The ‘Windfl oat’ design is taken from the oil industry

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 35 | focus |

‘Windfl oat’ – a close-up

The ‘Windfl oat’ platform is currently being built – onshore - in a shipyard in the port of Sétubal, about 50 km from Lisbon. Once fi nished, it will be towed out to its testing position in the ocean – Workers welding ‘modules’ – eight of them will a journey of about fi ve days. make up one of the three columns on the platform Photo: EDP As part of my visit to Portugal for Wind Directions, I am taken out to important. So if you had a 7 MW turbine platform with the turbine and the water Sétubal to visit the project with EDP’s rather than 2 MW, it would require only used in the ballast will weigh 1,200 Joao Gonçalo, Luis Castro and Gabriel about a 20% increase in the size of the tonnes. Nebreda. On the drive out, they explain platform.” The metal plates we can see being that the demonstration project has an All the technical details recede into welded together will form the hexagonal overall budget of €19 million, some the background for me upon arrival at ‘heave plates’ and be attached to the of it from the EU and some from the the shipyard, blown away by the sheer base of the columns. Portuguese government. size of what’s being built. The build- Once each module or plate is ready, Gonçalo explains the way the plat- ing, which is smells of hot metal and it undergoes an inspection and tests in- form is designed. gunpowder, is fi lled with massive reddish cluding x-rays to check for any fl aws. The “It is made up of three columns steel circles. Workers are kneeling over heave plates are reinforced with longer forming a triangular structure, and one sections of steel, blasting them with and smaller pieces of steel, known as of the columns supports the turbine”, heat to weld various pieces together. ‘girders’ and ‘stiffeners’. he says. “Each column has a plate Sparks leap up, bathing their masked The assembly of the platform will be of steel, known as a ‘heave plate’ on faces in a slightly eerie blueish light. carried out in the dock, in water about the bottom providing further damping. Alexia Aubault from Principle Power, four metres deep. It will then be moved The whole structure is about two-thirds which designed the platform, takes a short way to a slightly deeper section underwater, kept down with permanent us around the shipyard. She explains of the dock (seven metres of water) to water ballasts contained within the three that each 22 metre high column will be add the tower and turbine, before the columns.” made up of eight of the steel circles or gates to the dock are opened and it is In the test phase, the turbine used ‘modules’, which have a diameter of towed by a special vessel to its test will be a Vestas v80 - a 2 MW offshore eight metres. Incredibly, the metal is site. machine. However, Gonçalo stresses just 3 cm thick. This will be the ‘outer During the 12 or more months of that in future, Windfl oats will support shell’ of the column, and there will be testing, the engineers will also be look- bigger, higher output turbines to reach an inner shell with a four metre diam- ing to fi nd the least cost solution – that maximum cost-effi ciency. eter. The water making up the ‘active is, the optimum combination between “This will not impact the size of the ballast’ will go between the two shells – the performance of the turbine and the platform too much, because the mass the term ‘active’ means the water can complexity or size of the platform. of the turbine is not the key factor in move from column to column to keep Altogether, around 100 people are determining the size of the platform”, he the structure stable. Each fi nal column employed at the shipyard to work on the says. “The wave regime is much more will weigh 200 tonnes and the fi nished project.

Looking forward it can be taken elsewhere. The immediate future With some modesty, or perhaps because of should become clearer in the next few months recent headlines, all the Portuguese people I with proposals on electricity infrastructure spoke to voiced independently the opinion that development – which will include the France- wind energy is “one of the few things we do Spain interconnections - due from the European well”. Leaving aside other economic sectors, it Commission. The is true that the country has been quietly getting With a new government about to be formed on with creating progressive and forward-thinking in the general elections that, at the time of government conditions for renewables, and weaning itself off writing, are rapidly approaching, some elements wants 160,000 fuel imports, while also taking steps forward in of Portugal’s relationship with wind energy may terms of smart grids and electric vehicles. change. However it looks certain that the rela- operational What is needed now is for the grid, particu- tionship will continue to be a positive one, with electric cars by larly interconnections, to be developed in order growth set to continue to the predicted 6,900 to allow more wind energy onto the system so MW by 2020 and, with the development of off- 2020.” that when production exceeds demand at home, shore, even more beyond. ■

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José Carlos das Dores Zorrinho is Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation in the current Portuguese government. At this year’s EWEA Annual Event in Brussels, he spoke to Sarah Azau about overcoming the barriers to wind energy development, Portugal’s offshore potential and the government’s vision for electric vehicles.

Have you come across any particular barriers to wind energy development? There have been a few barriers in the past. In the beginning, the energy industry and other stake- holders resisted change but this is very interest- ing because now, the main businesses in tradi- tional energy sources, such as EDP, have become part of the consortiums that developed renewa- bles. For instance EDP is now fourth in the world for renewable energy. Martifer is also an example of a successful middle-size global entreprise. So we won this battle. The second barrier was local acceptance and commitment. We also won this battle by involving the people in renewable energy decisions and paying taxes to the municipalities which hosted renewable energy plants. Then Portugal had some problems of asymmetry of development in the cit- ies and regions further from the sea – and these regions are great for installing dams or wind power generators or even solar. The third and most diffi cult issue is not a battle but what I’d call a permanent dialogue with the Photo: EWEA/Bickley more conservative environmentalists. Sometimes there have been frustrations. But I think trust has now developed between the two sides and all the Why did renewable energy take off in Portugal? environmentalists now see renewables are a good It is clear that Portugal has a big dependence choice for energy, that they are good for the climate on fossil fuel imports and also plentiful domes- and biodiversity. tic resources in terms of When we want to make a mas- wind, water and sun, so the sive investment in renewables we government in 2005, led by “We won the local need fi rst to convince the bank Prime Minister José Socrates, managers then those environmen- took the strategic decision to acceptance battle by talists that are conservative and make a bet on development involving the people in mistrust wind energy. of Portugal as a benchmark in renewables. It was important renewables decisions How do you expect to achieve your for the country fi rst to reduce and paying taxes to 2020 targets? its commercial balance debt The global targets are now easy to and secondly to improve the municipalities achieve – we put in our NREAP a energy independence and to involved.” target of 31% energy from renewa- improve investment and crea- bles and 60% of electricity from tion of jobs in the country. renewables by 2020. In 2010, We are changing and transforming Portugal renewables provided 25% of all energy and 53% through renewable energy. of electricity.

38 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | interview |

In wind energy, we have more than 2,000 MW that are licensed and will be developed quickly if there José Carlos das Dores Zorrinho has a PhD in IT Management and are no fi nancial constraints – we need to pass is Professor of the Department of Business Administration at the this fi nancial bad moment but after I think things University of Évora, Portugal. will move quickly. Since 1990, he has been a member of the National Council of We are also trying to develop new technol- Portugal’s Socialist Party, and for most of that time also a deputy of the ogy – we have a consortium in Portugal with EDP, National Parliament. Vestas and some skilled local businesses to have He was Vice-President of the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group at a fi rst real prototype of a fl oating wind turbine. If the national Parliament in 1999 to 2000, and Joint-Secretary of State this technology works it will be very important for of the Minister for Home Offi ce from 2000 to 2010. wind energy – the Atlantic Ocean is very deep and He has been Portugal’s coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy since also windy. If we can make the most of the windy 2005 and national coordinator of the government’s Technological Plan Atlantic Ocean without the old costs of putting since 2009. the turbines in a very turbulent sea we could have In 2009 he was made Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation even more cheap energy. of the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Development. If the In recent years in Portugal we had production of Socialists lose the elections on 5 June, it is not yet clear who will wind energy at 70€/MWh. This is very competitive replace him. with other forms of energy – only hydro is less ex- pensive. It competes with gas and other fossil fuels.

Are the fl oating turbines your vision for offshore wind in Portugal? the main problem of wind energy is storage – Yes, but at the moment it’s not possible to say for example during night when production is how many megawatts we can install - we need to higher but consumption is lower. The wind and have numbers about the technol- hydro combination means ogy, whether it is effective and there is a real availability of the relationship between cost “If we can make the energy - at any time we can and production. The fi rst 20 MW most of the windy use water to produce more have licenses and we are mak- energy. The other part of this ing the demonstration project. I Atlantic Ocean, we model which I think will be hope to pass from 20 MW to a could have even more the winning model in Europe “Wind energy far bigger amount – 2,000 MW is the combination of wind, for instance - but I need to have cheap energy.” hydro and electric vehicles. in Portugal is more fi gures fi rst. This combination will make competitive the price of energy go down dramatically and Portugal has a fairly unique combination of wind Europe could develop new industry of electric with gas and and hydro. Do you think this is something worth cars where Europe could lead in the world. For other fossil copying in other countries? us electric vehicles are very important – they Wind and hydro is a very good combination as are part of our dream. ■ fuels.”

Trust has now developed between environmentalists and wind energy developers Photo: Luis Marinho

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Anzeige-Wind-105x148-EN.indd 1 09.02.11 11:53 Discover fi ve reasons to join EWEA

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Radar and wind turbines – learning to live together By Crispin Aubrey

Photo: EWEA/Ahmadi

A range of stakeholders - from landscape groups to bird that represents the wind industry, estimated organisations - have raised objections to proposals for that around 40 large wind farm projects, with a combined installed capacity of almost 6 GW, were erecting wind turbines, both on land and out at sea. Some being delayed because of objections from the of the more diffi cult to resolve, however, have come from aviation sector. Wind turbines are visible to aviation radar the authorities, both military and civilian, which use radar to because their main moving parts - the blades – detect aircraft movements. Now it looks as though solutions are picked up by the system as it sweeps across the sky. This can produce a variety of problems, are being found which will enable both of these vital the biggest of which is that the moving tips of the activities – renewable energy generation and safe fl ying - to blades can appear, to the person monitoring the radar, just like an aeroplane. Air traffi c controllers, operate in harmony. whether civilian or military, say they are therefore faced with the confusing dilemma of having to dif- ferentiate between aircraft and wind turbines. “They can’t ignore it just because they know onfl icts between wind energy and radar have there’s a wind farm in that area,” says consultant Cbeen in the news lately. The basic problem Jon Arden, who advises the UK wind industry on is that rotating wind turbines have been found radar issues. “The result is that the controllers to confuse existing radar systems, resulting in have decided to put in avoidance measures round the possibility of air traffi c control being compro- all wind farms. This involves keeping other aircraft mised. The issue has become a major headache at least fi ve miles (eight kilometres) away from for wind farm developers in the UK in particular what they see as a potential hazard. As the num- - a crowded island with a busy network of both ber of farms grows, this makes their job increas- civilian fl ight paths and air force fl ying zones. At ingly diffi cult. It’s a real problem, especially if the one stage Renewable UK, the trade association wind farm is quite close to an airport.”

42 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | technology special |

The good news is that, over the last few years, all The solution here has been to commission a new the stakeholders involved have started to work radar system known as TPS-77 from US defence closely together to fi nd solutions. This includes company Lockheed Martin. During trials at the the Civil Aviation Authority, which regulates radar Horns Rev offshore wind farm in Denmark this services round civilian airports, the National Air was found to have the capability to clearly dif- Traffi c Service (NATS), which monitors all civilian ferentiate air traffi c from wind turbine blades. It is fl ights over the UK’s airspace, and the Ministry of expected to be installed before the end of 2011, Defence, which controls radar for military aircraft. hopefully enabling all of the above fi ve projects As well as the wind industry itself, the govern- to proceed unhindered, and with the cost shared ment’s Energy and Climate Change Department between the government and the wind industry. and the Crown Estate - responsible for offshore The Ministry of Defence has now withdrawn its wind farm siting - are also involved. objections. “When I came into this fi ve or six years ago Finding a response to the air traffi c control there was a lot of suspicion,” says Arden, “a problems around civilian airports in the UK has feeling on the part of the aviation community that proved the most diffi cult. A number of new tech- this was a problem brought about entirely by the nologies have been assessed, one of the most wind developers. Now there’s a lot of dialogue promising so far being the “holographic infi ll” and a lot of work going into sensible solutions.” system. This is a small radar device which would One approach has been to look for an improved actually be installed in the middle of a wind farm, radar system that will distinguish wind farms from with the capability to view exactly what is going on other signals, the other has been to alter the and identify any nearby aircraft movement. In turn, turbines themselves. this data would be available to air traffi c control- As far as the NATS network is concerned, the lers at a nearby airport in the form of a “radar proposed solution is an adap- patch” covering just the area of tation to the Raytheon radar the wind farm. system already being used at “UK air traffi c So far, however, although the organisation’s 17 sites. controllers have put the system has been given the Algorithms have been developed green light for further investiga- which enable the system to in 8km no-fl y zones tion by the Aviation Advisory discriminate between turbines around wind farms.” Panel (which brings together all and aircraft, thus allowing it the relevant stakeholders), and to operate without confusion a prototype tested next to a over the presence of wind farms. Research and turbine at Swaffham in Norfolk, UK, this is still an development work should be completed by this R&D project in need of funding. July, hopefully followed by implementation. The UK£3.2 million (€3.65 million) cost is being A stealthy approach jointly funded by the government and an Aviation The other approach being looked at is to make Investment Fund Company set up by the wind adaptations to the wind turbines themselves. Here industry. “We’re optimistic it can provide a solu- the most radical idea is to create what have been tion,” says Arden, who spent last year working described as “stealth” blades. This means adding with the UK government’s Energy and Climate radar-absorbing material at the preparation stage Change Department on radar issues. of the composite structures that make up a blade so that, when in operation, they become invisible to Surveying the sea radar systems. Vestas says it is looking at the idea For military aircraft, one of the most conten- and may make an announcement later this year. tious locations has been the sea area off the “I think we will solve this problem with a range UK’s east coast known as the Greater Wash. of different approaches,” says Jon Arden. “There’s Five large offshore wind farms are planned there unlikely to be one magic bullet that does it all. under the Crown Estate’s allocation process - The positive thing is that, after circling round the Sheringham Shoal, Race Bank, Dudgeon, Triton problem for many years, the industry has now got Knoll and Docking Shoal - with a combined to the stage where it has a thorough understand- “‘Stealth’ capacity of more than 5.5 GW. The Ministry ing of the potential solutions.” of Defence objected to all of them originally Reaching a solution to the radar problem blades would on the basis that they would interfere with its has proved slow and frustrating for the UK wind be invisible to Trimingham radar station, which surveys the industry. In other European countries situations airspace out at sea. vary signifi cantly. In France, and Sweden, radar systems.”

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 43 | technology special |

radar issues are reported to be delaying a sig- aircraft itself to track its exact position. nifi cant amount of wind farm authorisations. In EADS has been carrying out a study to de- Denmark, on the other hand, which has Europe’s termine whether the new system will defi nitely largest penetration of wind energy – producing provide a solution for the wind industry. “We enough power for about 25% of the country’s de- hope that this means that there won’t be so mand – it has never become an issue, according many problems in the future,” says Reeker. BWE to the Danish Wind Industry Association. Other has also been lobbying for the new system to be countries with a substantial wind penetration, introduced fi rst along the North Sea coast, where such as Portugal and Spain, have not experienced the biggest hold-ups have occurred for new wind problems either. farms.

Different countries, similar issues One at a time In Germany, which has the biggest installed The other important outcome from the ongo- capacity of any European Union member state, ing discussions between the BWE and the the civil aviation authorities have not raised any Bundeswehr is that the military authorities have major objections. The military, however, whose agreed to look closely at each application for a concern is inevitably overlaid with the issue of new wind farm, rather than just issuing a blanket national security, have made life diffi cult for wind objection. This should make it easier for new farm promoters, particularly in the areas of the projects to progress. Carlo Reeker believes that country close to the North Sea where the density establishing this direct contact between experts of turbines is greatest. Up to 1,200 MW of new from both sides has paid dividends, avoiding an capacity has been held up by their objections. acrimonious public debate. “The main problem is with the standards Some wind farm developers, frustrated at laid down by the military,” says Carlo Reeker of obstructions to their plans, have nonetheless the BWE, the German Wind Energy Association. decided to challenge the military authorities. “These say that within a 35 Last year, the developer of kilometre radius of their radar a proposed wind farm in the systems they are likely to have “Up to 1,200 MW of German state of North Rhine problems with the presence of Westphalia, Töns Nagel-Held, wind turbines. They say they capacity in Germany took the Bundeswehr’s objection can’t see aeroplanes when has been held up by to court. After initially objecting they are behind the turbines. to all three turbines proposed by The trouble is that they don’t objections from the Nagel-Held, the military retained really look any further into military.” their opposition to one of them, the issue than that. It’s just a saying that the height of its blanket rule.” tower should be reduced from To try to resolve the confl ict, BWE started 108 to 85 metres. Nagel-Held argued that this discussions with the German military organisa- wasn’t either feasible or justifi ed. tion, the Bundeswehr, three years ago. Both The Hanover court eventually came down on sides established their own working groups. It the side of Nagel-Held, saying that it wasn’t good is now hoped that a solution will result from the enough for the military to just say there might be Bundeswehr’s decision to introduce a new radar a problem. They had to produce clear evidence. system – something it needed to do anyway to re- The developer pointed out that 582 other turbines place 30 year-old equipment – which will hopefully were operating in the area covered by the radar enable them to clearly distinguish turbines from station without any apparent problem. other hazards. The expert witness called by Nagel-Held at this The new system, known as ASR-S, is to be court hearing was Gerhard Greving, an independ- installed by EADS Defence & Security across all ent engineer and established technical expert 22 military radar stations in Germany at a cost of on radar. Greving is sceptical about the technical €250 million. It will be able to monitor both the strength of some of the civil and military authori- approach to the military airfi elds and a large ra- ties’ objections to wind farms, especially when, dius of airspace around them, including coordina- as in this case, the proposed turbine was 33 tion with civil air traffi c. kilometres away from the radar location. The main difference from the existing radar “I showed that the effects you could expect network is that it involves both a primary and a would be minor,” he says, “for instance that secondary level. The primary system scans the shadowing (reduced radar coverage behind a wind skyline for all fl ying or moving objects, including turbine) was insignifi cant and that ghosting (radar aeroplanes, while the secondary radar system signals defl ected by a turbine blade, creating an uses the signal from a transponder inside the inaccurately positioned object) simply would not

44 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | technology special |

Traditional primary radar cannot give the height or exact location of an aircraft Photo: iStockphoto

happen. These effects are anyway negligible com- example its height above ground - only that pared to the refl ections caused by the radar beams it is in view. hitting the ground, which you will have anyway. The primary radar therefore provides a basic “My general argument is that the authorities have monitoring verifi cation as the basis for the sec- to prove that the presence of wind turbines really ondary radar to generate more specifi c informa- does harm their radar. The German court said you tion. Secondary radar transmits an interrogation had to show the effects and then we will make a sequence to which the transponder on board judgement, whilst the current approach of the mili- an aircraft responds and gives its height and tary authorities is to say: ‘When we say it harms, exact location. The most modern radar systems then it harms; no discussion’.” combine this information with the primary input As evidence that different organisations can to provide what is described as a “reinforced” come to different conclusions about the threat result. A combination of primary and secondary posed by wind turbines to radar, Greving cites radar, working in tandem, should therefore offer the example of Vienna () and Bratislava the best mitigation measure against any issues (Slovakia) airports, which are only about 50 from wind turbines. kilometres apart and therefore monitor some of At Hong Kong airport, for example, where Greving the same airspace. There are many wind farms has worked as a consultant for Chinese wind on the Austrian side of the border within relatively farms proposed nearby, there is a well developed close distance to Bratislava. But despite the fact secondary radar system. It is also compulsory for that virtually identical radar systems are installed aeroplanes using the airport to have a transponder at both airports, only the Slovakians object to the on board. This should solve most of the problems turbines, he says. there, he says, an argument which was accepted Greving believes that a combination of pri- at the offi cial hearing into the wind farm proposal. mary and secondary radar, as now being intro- “Just because there are some extreme exceptions duced by the Bundeswehr, may offer a solution to when this combination doesn’t work,” he adds, “that any continuing disputes. Primary radar transmits doesn’t justify ignoring it as a solution.” pulses which hit a target and are then refl ected Carlo Reeker of the BWE agrees. “I think the back, he explains. From the travel time of the problem is that the military see us as the new- pulses and position of the radar antennae you comers,” he says. “They say they have a task to can then judge the distance of the aircraft or defend the country and that’s the most important other fl ying object. But traditional primary radar thing. But we also have a task, which is an envi- is basically 2-D and its value is limited because ronmental one. It’s not a solution for them to just it can’t tell you exactly where an aircraft is - for say we can’t put up wind turbines.” ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 45 | EWEA 2011 |

EWEA 2011 opens with an acrobatic display

EWEA 2011 moves onwards and upwards

By Chris Rose Photos: EWEA

Against a sobering backdrop of the earthquake-tsunami-nuclear accident in and continuing civil unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, the many benefi ts of wind power were enthusiasti- cally celebrated during the EWEA 2011 Annual Event in Brussels in March.

hile conference speakers and attendees at I think by 2050 we’ll have 100% renewables in WEWEA 2011 acknowledged the challenging Europe,” said Hedegaard. “I think that is perfectly crises that had the potential of changing global doable.” politics, they also noted that the growing accept- ance of wind power acts as a stabilising force Targeting the future at the pivotal intersection of energy supply, the EWEA held a press conference on the opening day economy and the environment. that noted the EU must adopt a binding renew- Indeed, the more than 9,000 participants who able energy target for 2030 to secure long-term attended the event between 14 and 17 March — investment in renewable energy. making it one of the biggest yet in the world of EWEA President Arthouros Zervos noted European wind power — accepted without hesita- “the wind industry expects to invest some tion that the technology would experience a great €400 billion in Europe between now and 2030. and rapidly-expanding future. They also made the To do so it needs stable and certain EU energy most of the business opportunities on offer. policy.” “Altogether we’re happy,” Christian Meyer from EWEA also launched a new report. Entitled Enercon said on the fi nal day while being inter- “EU Energy Policy to 2050”, it argues that viewed in the exhibition hall, which was adjacent the renewable energy targets set so far have to Brussels’ famous Atomium and boasted a enabled Europe to become the world leader massive 13,000m2 of fl oor space. in renewable energy technologies, and reduce Concurring, Iwona Gieldowska from Acciona greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, this said: “It’s been a great event, very well organised successful policy should be repeated for the and we’ve made lots of interesting contacts. period after 2020, together with the support EWEA events are some of the best.” of an Emissions Performance Standard, and a For those who follow the political aspects of en- tighter Emissions Trading System. ergy supply as it relates to wind power, the highlight “We are facing a policy vacuum after 2020,” of the conference occurred during a press confer- said Zervos. “We must ensure that the renewable ence with EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie energy targets established in 2001 and 2009 are Hedegaard when she spoke optimistically about the replicated for the period after 2020 with ambi- contribution renewables can make to Europe’s future. tious 2030 targets. We must ensure that that “When we talk about the electricity sector, not the success story of renewable energy in Europe the total energy consumption, but electricity, then survives beyond 2020.”

46 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | EWEA 2011 |

Green MEP Claude Turmes describes the urgent need to reduce carbon missions at the Commissioner Hedegaard (centre) believes 100% opening session renewables in Europe by 2050 is “perfectly doable”

EWEA’s second press release discussed a new in 2050”, Kjaer said. “This means that to achieve report from the EU-funded UpWind project which a carbon-free power sector by 2050, in theory found that 20 Megawatt (MW) wind turbines are no new carbon-emitting power plants ought to be feasible. built after 2015.” The UpWind project explored the design limits The release noted that the new EWEA re- of upscaling wind turbines to 20 MW and found port calls for a binding Emissions Performance that they would have rotor diameters of around Standard to limit carbon emissions on new power 200 metres, compared to some 120 metres on plants from 2015 and reducing Europe’s domestic today’s 5 MW turbines. 2020 emissions by 30% instead of the current The press release noted that such turbines 20% target. could be a solution for expanding Europe’s The report also called for a 2030 renewable offshore wind energy capacity, providing several energy target, and domestic emissions reduction times more electricity at lower costs than today’s targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050, taking the turbines. However, the report says 20 MW tur- power sector to zero carbon by 2050. bines require a new, tailored design to make them work. The press release stresses that for this Eyes on the prize the EU and Member States must fund their share EWEA also gave the wind energy sector’s most of the €6 billion research programme on wind prestigious award, the Poul la Cour prize, to energy, the European Wind Initiative. Henrik Stiesdal, Chief Technology Offi cer at EWEA’s last press release said the EU must Siemens Wind Power and one of the pioneers put extra legislation in place in the lifetime of the of modern wind energy technology, at the con- current European Commission if it is to meet its ference’s opening session. The award commitment to cut domestic carbon emissions by was handed over by Danish Climate and 80-95% by 2050. Energy Minister Lykke Friis. The release said that even though the “I am extremely pleased to be award- European Commission had just released its ing the Poul la Cour prize to Henrik, whose ‘Roadmap to a low carbon society’ which outlined commitment to and vision for the wind the need for a “fully decarbonised power sector” energy industry have been absolute ever by 2050, the need for action is much more im- since he built his fi rst turbine out of scrap mediate than EU leaders realise. metal in the 1970s”, said Kjaer. Noting that the power sector must be at zero “From there, he became one of the carbon by 2050, EWEA CEO Christian Kjaer said founding fathers of the largest manu- immediate action is required. facturer of wind turbines in the world — Danish Minister Friis presents the “Because fossil fuel power plants run for 30 to Vestas — and today continues to guide Poul La Cour prize to Siemens’ 45 years, investment decisions taken today will wind energy technology in his role at Henrik Stiesdal determine our energy mix and carbon emissions Siemens Wind Power.”

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 47 | EWEA 2011 |

Speaking out The seven ministers noted that the European Featured at the conference and exhibition were Commission’s recent Roadmap shows that the about 200 top speakers, live debates, high-quality current 20% target is not a cost-effective route to sessions covering a variety of topics, 300 special- its 2050 goal, and that tools and policies, espe- ist presentations, numerous workshops and over cially in regard to energy effi ciency, are already in 400 exhibitors. place to cut emissions by 25%. The event saw CEOs and EU policy makers “The case to move to a 30% target by 2020 mingling with wind power engineers, technicians, is now stronger as a result,” noted the letter, manufacturers, bankers, economists, developers, which was also signed by ministers from Germany, environmentalists and journalists. Spain, Britain, Portugal, Sweden and Greece. Up front and centre were discussions about “At a time when the price of oil is soaring, Europe being at a crossroads in terms of energy putting in place an ambitious plan for Europe’s supply, the economy and the environment. As such, low-carbon future has wider benefi ts than tackling EWEA 2011 showcased how the onshore and climate change. It will increase the continent’s offshore wind power sector is playing an increasingly resilience against oil price spikes and reduce signifi cant role in addressing these major problems. its dependence on imported energy. And it will The conference got off to a rapid start with help Europe compete with emerging economies Lykke Friis, Denmark’s Minister for Climate and in the fast-growing markets for green goods and Energy, telling people attending the opening services.” session that Europeans must understand that continuing to depend on expensive oil for energy After 2020 is a losing proposition. Participants at another session heard that the “Let there be no doubt, the new energy reality wind energy industry could “decay” without a is here,” Friis said. “We simply must end our oil regulatory framework for renewables after 2020. addiction.” “The industry will not collapse but it will decay Friis added political leaders must act with- from an innovation perspective without a new out delay to capitalise on wind power and other regulatory framework,” warned Vice-President for renewables. Renewables of GE Energy, Victor Abate at a CEO Herman Van Rompuy, vision panel on ‘After 2020’. President, acknowledged in a video message “an Other panelists agreed that predictability and important step will be to consider what happens stability were necessary to ensure investments after the current successful policies run out in in the European wind energy sector. The 2020 2020.” renewable energy target has encouraged huge Jerzy Buzek, President of the European growth in the industry in Europe, they said. Parliament, told EWEA 2011 in another video “Increasingly regions are saying ‘we’re going to message that Europe must create a single market win tomorrow’s game by developing technology at in electricity “as soon as possible.” home and selling it to the world,’” said Kjaer. He also pointed out that: “Wind energy received just The 30% ambition 1% of total OECD total energy research funds for Politics continued to play a big role as it became many years. Now it can produce electricity at 5 to known that environment ministers from seven 8 cents per KWh, just like coal or gas. It must be European nations urged Member States to the best return on investment ever made.” endorse a 30% reduction of greenhouse gases However, without a renewed policy – such as by 2020 instead of the cur- binding renewable energy targets for 2030 – rent target of 20%. growth could move away from Europe, panelists Friis and six other agreed. EU environment minis- ters meeting for the EU Essential for growth Environment Council Those attending another session heard that released a letter asking transparency, administrative procedures of a for tougher climate targets known length and a low risk of changes to the to ensure emissions are legal framework are amongst the most crucial ele- reduced by 80% by 2050. ments for emerging wind energy markets. Panelists including GE’s Victor Abate “Now is the right time Presenting fi ndings from a study by Germany’s (right) stress the need for post-2020 to discuss the most Sustainable Business Institute (SBI), Christian legislation for renewables cost-effective route to Friebe said it was elements like these, which achieving our 2050 goals, “don’t appear on cash fl ow statements”, that maximising growth, jobs and prosperity throughout are as important as the fi nancing side for wind Europe,” Friis and the other ministers wrote. power developers in emerging markets, defi ned

48 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 | EWEA 2011 | as everything other than Europe, North America, India and China. Other important elements for developers include a feed-in tariff support system and guaranteed grid access, Friebe said. However, the one-stop shop approach for administrative procedures often seen as desirable in mature Conference dinner markets was considered a risk, as having one attendees listen to the body look after all the processes can bring a lack welcome from EWEA of transparency in countries with little or no wind CEO Christian Kjaer energy experience. “What we learn is that policy-makers in these places can increase the attractiveness of their comparison, he said, less than one-third of com- country at little cost – by increasing transparency, plaints against pro-wind farm ads were upheld. setting a clear duration for the approval process, “The anti-wind farm lobby has consistently shot and guaranteeing no unforeseen policy changes”, itself in the foot,” he said, adding many of the concluded Friebe. false claims suggest wind farms negatively affect Called ‘Social and Environmental Acceptance’, human health and drive down the property value another session discussed how wind farms can of homes near wind farms. provide environmental, economic and societal benefi ts — even though they often face criticism High society in the planning stages. As usual, the venues for various social events Micheal O’Briain from DG Environment, were impressive, especially the conference din- European Commission, said planning is vital if the ner, held at the ‘Tour et Taxis’ former warehouse EU is to achieve both its climate change objec- facility. tives and biodiversity challenges. While chatting and dining, people could be David Jones, editor of Platts Renewable Energy seen exchanging business cards and making Report, told the participants that a fi ve-year plans to attend EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 from 29 review of decisions made by the UK Advertising November to 1 December in Amsterdam as well Standards Authority shows that the anti-wind farm as the EWEA 2012 Annual Event in Copenhagen lobby is much more likely to be cited for false next 16-19 April. ■ advertising than the pro-wind farm lobby. Jones said the authority upheld 55 of the More on EWEA OFFSHORE 2011: www.ewea.org/offshore2011 63 challenges to anti-wind farm advertising. In More on the EWEA 2012 Annual Event: www.ewea.org/annual2012

EWEA donation helps install small-scale wind turbine in Africa

As part of the event, EWEA donated €9,000 – the equiva- out-of-season lent of €1 per attendee - to its chosen charity, Renewable harvests, therefore World. resulting in a bet- Renewable World, formerly known as the Koru Foundation, ter price and higher was set up in 2007 to act as the link between the European income. renewable energy sector and energy-poor communities who The charity says

are most vulnerable to climate change. a local partner Photo: BlueEnergy Renewable World works with local partners to install com- will be engaged to Villagers such as these in Nicaragua have munity-based renewable energy projects in poor countries develop and facili- benefi tted from wind turbines set up by which enable people to pump clean water, power homes, tate supply chain Renewable World schools and health centres and run small businesses in a routes to local sustainable way. markets. The money EWEA is donating will go towards a wind- “It is anticipated that the wind turbine will additionally powered irrigation water pumping system for the Mipande generate enough energy for households to charge batter- Farmers’ Association in Mozambique, East Africa. ies for lighting and for a mobile phone charging unit to be A locally-produced small-scale wind turbine will be operational,” it said. “Both of these should also be income- installed primarily to pump water to drip irrigate the crops generating opportunities.” of the Farmers’ Association, resulting in higher yield and More on Renewable World: www.renewable-world.org

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 49 | EWEA news | A full size turbine blade is lifted onto Brussels’ Rond- Point Schuman for Global Wind Day 2010 Photos: EWEA

Gearing up for Global Wind Day

The wind energy industry worldwide is getting ready for the 2011 Global Wind Day on 15 June. Information about use the hash tag: #globalwindday. Also Member of Cabinet of Climate Action hundreds of events has been sent to as part of the viral “buzz creation”, EWEA Commissioner Hedegaard, Folker EWEA from member associations in a has developed an e-card that will be sent Franz, Industrial Affairs Director, wide range of countries, and the interac- out to contacts. BUSINESSEUROPE and Josche Muth, tive map showing them is available on In Brussels, various activities will be Deputy Secretary General, EREC. www.globalwindday.org. taking place around the 15 June. A key “The event is a great opportunity to In addition to the Global Wind Day event will be EWEA’s fourth free-to-attend discuss the policies that need to be put website, there is a Facebook group you public debate, this time on EU energy in place after the EU’s 2020 targets no can join by going to www.facebook.com policy after 2020. The details are: longer apply with a wide audience of and searching for ‘Global Wind Day’. Date: Wednesday 15 June 2011 - Global opinion-formers in and around the EU We are also using Twitter - Wind Day institutions”, said EWEA’s Campaigns http://twitter.com - to communicate Time: 16.00-17.30 followed by a Offi cer Elke Zander. about Global Wind Day and to do this ef- drinks reception Register to attend free of charge on fectively, we have created a Global Wind Venue: Press Club Brussels Europe, www.ewea.org/events Day profi le and invite you to follow us Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels For more information please contact Elke Zander at and retweet our messages. If you intend Confi rmed speakers include: [email protected] to Tweet about Global Wind Day, please Claude Turmes, MEP, Niels Ladefoged, More on Global Wind Day: www.globalwindday.org

Less than a year to go until EWEA 2012

In under a year from now, the EWEA unquestionably the ‘meeting place’ for wind Over 10,000 people are likely to attend the 2012 Annual Event – Europe’s premier energy professionals. 12,000m2 exhibition, housing 400 or more wind energy event - will take place in As with this year’s event, attendees stands, with most of them already sold. Copenhagen, coinciding with the Danish EU can expect to advance their wind energy The recent 2011 edition of Europe’s Presidency. Held at the Bella Center from knowledge, gain valuable insights and premier wind energy event attracted over 16-19 April, the event and its exhibition are access unrivalled business opportunities. 9,000 participants and 445 exhibitors. Event website: www.ewea.org/annual2012

EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 - exhibition doubles in size

The world’s largest offshore wind energy in Stockholm. Over 200 exhibitors have Offshore wind energy is an industry conference and exhibition is taking place already confi rmed – which means 85% of huge potential continuously at- from 29 November – 1 December 2011 of the space is sold - coming from many tracting greater and greater interest, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. of the new sectors springing up around not just from the wind energy sector The 2011 event will build on the the growing industry. but also from the marine, shipping, previous edition held in Stockholm, EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 is set to draw construction, fi nance and logistics Sweden in 2009 which attracted over 7,000 participants looking to learn about sectors. 4,850 participants. In addition to the the latest developments in the offshore Sponsorship opportunities are also on conference, EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 industry, identify new business opportuni- offer to help move your company ahead will house an 8,000m2 exhibition zone, ties and meet key players from Europe, of the competition. double the size of the previous event Asia and North America. Event website: www.ewea.org/offshore2011

50 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 WIND ENERGY PROFESSIONALS ATTENDED THE EWEA 2011 ANNUAL EVENT

exhibiting companies came from Europe, Asia and the Americas Need to TIE business of exhibitors made new business contacts of good value decisions with facts?

of exhibitors were overall satisfi ed with their presence & visibility at EWEA 2011

of exhibitors agree that the EWEA 2011 value for money is equal or higher to that of other events

exhibitors achieved or exceeded their business objectives for their participation at EWEA 2011

of exhibitors intend to or have already reserved a stand at EWEA 2012

of conference delegates stated that EWEA 2011 provided ‘good’ or ‘very good’ networking opportunities

of conference delegates will ‘defi nitely’ or ‘likely’ attend EWEA 2012

of exhibition visitors were of senior management level 81% of exhibition visitors had fi nal authority or infl uential power on purchasing decision making

Sources: EWEA 2011 Annual event participants registration data and post-event online survey fi ndings. Experience the power of the wind energy industry

www.ewea.org/annual2012

Monday 16 - Thursday 19 April 2012 - Bella Center, Copenhagen, Denmark Save the date for Europe’s premier wind energy event

2 EWEA Annual event combines a comprehensive conference Over of exhibition space 12,000m and a fi rst class exhibition with unrivalled networking oppor- tunities, all under one roof. More than 10,000 wind energy professionals expected from over 70 countries The 2012 edition will be the meeting place to experience the power of Europe’s largest wind energy community, where high-level professionals come together to network with the 400 exhibitors from the world’s leading companies leading policy and business decision-makers of the industry.

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Looking to recruit? Call +44 (0)20 8267 4711 or email [email protected] jobs.ewea.org EWEA welcomes new members Events

Aquiloz AS (Norway) IMS Ingenieurgesellschaft GmbH (Germany) www.aquiloz.com www.ims-ing.de

Automasjon &Data AS (Norway) ING Bank NV (The Netherlands) A+D is a leading supplier of Environmental Monitoring www.ing.com EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 Systems (EMS) for the offshore oil and gas industry KCI (The Netherlands) 29 November – 1 December 2011 with more than 30 years of experience from oil rigs, www.kci.nl FPSOs, drillships, oil terminals and other offshore and Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.ewea.org/offshore2011 onshore installations. Kockums AB (Sweden) E-mail: [email protected] A+D can supply turn-key complete Met mast www.kockums.se instrumentation including sensors, data acquisition Tel: + 32 2 213 18 00 systems, communication systems, Power supply Kuwait Industries Holding K.S.C. (Kuwait) systems, Nav aids, SCADA systems and more. www.kuwaitindustries.com This includes design, documentation, installation, Kymenlaakso University of Applied Scinces (Finland) commissioning and later operation and maintenance www.kyamk.fi support. www.automasjon.no Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies (USA) Developed and produced by Lockheed Martin, EWEA 2012 Annual Event BZEE Consult GmbH (Germany) WindTracer® is a long range Doppler lidar that provides (formerly known as EWEC) www.bzee.de real-time wind data over an area of 100,000+ acres. 16-19 April 2012 Commerzbank AG (UK) The resulting wind maps have greater accuracy than Copenhagen, Denmark www.commerzbank.com models anchored by single-point measurements www.ewea.org/annual2012 and consequently reduce uncertainties, decrease E-mail: [email protected] Deutsche WindGuard Offshore GmbH (Germany) integration costs and improve grid management. Tel : + 32 2 213 18 00 www.windguard.de www.lockheedmartin.com

Doosan Power Systems (UK) Momac GmbH & Co.KG (Germany) www.doosanpowersystems.com www.momac-group.de

EarthStream (UK) Nabtesco (Germany) www.earthstreamglobal.com www.nabtesco.com Your letters Edward Francis Ltd. (UK) Nomura International (UK) www.edward-francis.co.uk www.nomura.com Write to WD - [email protected] EMU Ltd. (UK) Opus Marine GmbH (Germany) www.emulimited.com www.opusmarine.com Dear Sarah, Eneco Wind B.V (The Netherlands) PT TECH (USA) I want to say thank you very much for www.eneco.nl www.pttech.com EWEA and WD. I am working of assistant teacher in Ensto Finland Oy (Finland) Rabobank International (The Netherlands) National Aviation University in Ukraine. www.ensto.com www.rabobank.com At the end if 2010 I became project Envision (China) Reliacore AB (Sweden) manager of the wind plant “Gravicappa” www.envisioncn.com www.reliacore.eu (www.gravicappa.com.ua). Start to such a success, I believe: Equatorial International PTE LTD (Singapore) Vulkan 1) My innovation experimental wind www.swiber.com VULKAN Group operates in the fi eld of Power power plant for low wind speeds, that Transmission Technology for over 120 years with Eurocopter (France) widespread in Ukraine worldwide presence and headquarters in Germany. We www.eurocopter.com supply Yaw Brakes and Rotor Brakes with braking force 2) Own willpower, persistence and desire Flow (The Netherlands) up to 434 kN, hydraulic Power Units with pressure 3) Information from three foreign www.fl ow-windpark.nl up to 400 bar, Couplings to turbines up to 5MW, journals: Wind Directions, Ademe&Vous, Composite Shafts made of materials such as GFRP or Altitude Force Technology (Denmark) CFRP, Resilient Mounts to noise and vibration isolation, This was not easy because after the www.forcetechnology.com and online Monitoring and Diagnostics System for Chernobyl catastrophe I completely Green Power Development Holding Company BV (The turbines. amputated one leg. Netherlands) www.vulkandrivetech.com I wish EWEA and WD good health and strength to implement your plans. I Windfair.net (Germany) GSG Towers (Poland) believe that your work has preserved the www.windfair.net www.stocznia.gda.pl beauty of our planet. Kostyantyn Sydorenko, Kiev region, Ukraine ■

WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 55 *think it’s so good they’ve told their colleagues

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Coming up in September 2011’s Wind Directions: A question of social acceptance Can you read the future?

You can now As the voice of the wind industry, EWEA is in the perfect position to provide readers with reliable, relevant information on the developments and challenges encountered by the sector. If you are looking for reference publications for the wind energy sector, EWEA can offer you, free of charge, its collection of titles: available both in hard copy and digital versions.

Order here: www.ewea.org/order | the last word |

Leaving EWEA but not forgetting the world of wind power

efl ecting on my 10 years at EWEA, I fi nd it dif- My answer then is the same as it is today: Firstly, Rfi cult to remember the single most important it has huge potential to make positive economic, revelation I experienced. social and environmental change. Secondly, it is a Seeing the full-time staff at EWEA grow from fascinating and diverse sector involving science, three in 2001 when I joined the organisation — engineering, policy, geopolitics, environment/ which has become one of the most credible and climate, economics and fi nance. And fi nally, if you well respected industry associations in Brussels do have to work, you might as well do something — to nearly 60 people today is indeed satisfying. positive. Moving from a project manager position to Those same friends are now calling me up to marketing director to Chief Operating Offi cer see if they can get work or contacts in the sector! Bruce Douglas was a thrilling ride, as was helping to launch the From then to now, of course, the sector has former Chief Operating Global Wind Energy Council. grown exponentially. A proven generating technolo- Offi cer of EWEA Watching EWEA’s annual turnover jump from gy, the wind industry has become widely respected €700,000 a decade ago to approximately €12 for creating high tech jobs, providing increasing million now has been a humbling experience. amounts of clean, emissions-free electricity and Observing the 70 members the organisation mitigating climate change caused by burning fossil had 10 years ago expand to the almost 700 today fuels. supporting EWEA is equally gratifying as is the Today, wind energy fi nds itself at the epicenter fact that the largest annual event a decade ago of the most pressing challenges of the 21st cen- garnered 1,000 people compared to the 9,000 tury. Simply put, wind power is a force for good. who just attended the EWEA 2011 Annual Event. One of my proudest memories in the sector Witnessing the total wind power installed ca- occurred on 9 December 2008 when the European pacity in Europe soar from 12,000 MW in 2001 to Union agreed to new legislation for renewables. over 85,000 today is, excuse the pun, electrifying. The Renewable Energy Directive mandated by Realising the thousands of friends and col- law that 20% of Europe’s energy supply must come leagues I met during the last 10 years were, like from wind power and other renewables by 2020. me, on a somewhat unchartered quest to pro- That new long-term political support for wind mote the many benefi ts wind power can provide power was an immensely gratifying validation of all Bruce Douglas is has been exceptionally rewarding. the goals we had been working towards. now working for 3E I can truthfully say, though, that as someone From EWEA staff to member companies to wind as Sales who did a Masters degree in Renewable Energy power component manufacturers to scientists, and Marketing 15 years ago and then worked in energy consul- technicians and policy makers, it has been a great Director and he tancy and communications before joining EWEA, privilege to work with you all this past decade. is responsible I never imagined back then just how explosively We have become something of an extended for growing and successful Europe’s wind power sector would family committed to playing a central role in a diversifying their become. much-needed green energy revolution — a move- global consultancy Some friends used to ask me why anyone ment capable of replacing the old-style business- and software would want to start their career in wind energy as-usual politics based on fear and greed with a product business. when there were other more fi nancially rewarding secure, attainable and healthier future. You could opportunities available. call it a breath of fresh air. ■

58 WIND DIRECTIONS | June 2011 Global Wind Day 15 June 2011 Photo: (c) RES Group/Helen Hall

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