EU-DIGEST: Windpower

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2/7/19

EU Alternative Clean Energy - Windpower: Europe adds 2.6 GW of offshore wind in 2018

Irish Windpark

The European offshore wind industry added 2,649 MW of net capacity in 2018, the bulk of which in the UK and Germany, but saw installations drop 15.8% from the record 2017, show statistics by WindEurope, released today.

The capacity additions bring Europe’s total offshore wind capacity to 18,499 MW, coming from 105 plants in 11 countries. A total of 409 wind turbines across 18 wind farms started generating power in 2018. Most of the machines were installed in the UK and Germany -- 1,312 MW and 969 MW, respectively. The two countries accounted for 85% of Europe’s fresh offshore wind capacity and were followed by Belgium with 309 MW and Denmark with 61 MW.

“The technology keeps developing. The turbines keep getting bigger. And the costs keep falling. It’s now no more expensive to build offshore wind than it is to build coal or gas plants,” WindEurope’s CEO Giles Dickson said.

In the past year, EUR 10.3 billion (USD 11.7bn) of projects, representing 4.2 GW of capacity, reached final investment decisions (FIDs). The investment amount is 37% higher in annual terms compared to 2017, while the capacity covered rose by 91% due to the quickly falling costs. This amount has supported the 4.2 GW of projects, that are expected to come online in the next couple of years.

A Danish offshore Windpark

WindEurope highlighted in the statistics that turbines and wind farms are getting larger, with the average turbine size reaching 6.8 MW last year, or 15% greater than it was in 2017. The biggest offshore wind turbine, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind's machine with a capacity of 8.8 MW, was switched on at the 657-MW Walney 3 Extension offshore wind farm in the UK. In terms of manufacturers, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (BME:SGRE) and MHI Vestas were responsible for 95% of all connected turbines in 2018, with shares of 62% and 33% respectively.

According to WindEurope’s data, six offshore wind parks are currently being built in Europe, among which is the 1,218-MW Hornsea 1 in the North Sea, the first offshore complex globally with a capacity exceeding 1 GW.

WindEurope’s CEO pointed out that more governments are “recognising the merits of offshore wind,” giving Poland as an example and its plans to add 10 GW by 2040, while there are still some that are not taking advantage of offshore wind’s potential, including Sweden and France.

Read more: Europe adds 2.6 GW of offshore wind in 2018

11/3/17

The Netherlands: Microsoft Signs New PPA for Wind Farm Electricity in the Netherlands - by Alyssa Danigelis

Microsoft signed a PPA with the Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall to purchase all the electricity produced from a new 180-megawatt wind farm being built in the Netherlands, according to an announcement this week. The farm will be located in the Wieringermeer polder, near Amsterdam, next to Microsoft’s data center operations.

The 10-year deal, one of the largest wind PPAs in the Netherlands, is Vattenfall’s first with a data center outside Nordic countries. Nuon, part of Vattenfall, will be responsible for constructing and operating the wind farm. Eventually the company plans to expand the project to include 100 windmills, according to Microsoft. “That will allow the production of approximately 1.3 billion kilowatt hours of renewable electricity,” the announcement says.

The tech giant’s data center operations in the Netherlands are a regional hub for Microsoft Cloud service customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond. Vattenfall and Microsoft already had a partnership prior to the PPA — the energy company uses Microsoft’s cloud-based tools for its business operations including the enterprise platform Azure for analytics.

Lately Microsoft has been on a roll with renewable energy. Last month the company signed a deal for 100% of the energy produced by GE’s new 37-megawatt wind farm in Ireland. Recently Microsoft opened a pilot for a data center in Seattle that uses integrated fuel cells and natural gas rather than power from the electrical grid. The company’s Cloud Infrastructure and Operations team hopes the fuel cells can one day work with renewable biogas instead.

The Wieringermeer site currently has 93 turbines that are set to be replaced with more powerful machines, Wind Power Monthly reported. “Combined with an adjacent extension the project’s additional capacity of 115 MW, Wieringermeer will have 100 turbines in total with a total capacity of 295 MW when completed,” reporter Craig Richard wrote. “Vattenfall will own 82 of these turbines, the nearby Energy Research Center of the Netherlands will own 17, and the remaining turbine will be reserved for local residents, the developer said.”

Construction on Vattenfall’s new wind farm is planned to start next year. The partners expect additional generation capacity to become available in 2020. Once the project is completed, it will likely be one of the largest wind farms in the Netherlands.
Read more: Microsoft Signs New PPA for Wind Farm Electricity in the Netherlands - Energy Manager Today

5/19/16

Windpower - Hawaii: Companies Propose Deep-Water Wind Farms off Hawaii Shores - by cathy bussewitz

As Hawaii pushes to meet its aggressive renewable energy goals, two companies have proposed offshore wind turbine projects for federal waters off Oahu. Their plan would use technology that floats the massive turbines in deep waters miles offshore.

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the agency that would decide whether to approve ocean leases for the projects. It's holding a meeting about the proposals Monday.May 23

The offshore turbine proposals are in the early stages, and would face years of environmental reviews and community meetings before possible approval.

Hawaii has set a goal for its utilities to use 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2045.

5/5/16

China: Wind Power: China kicks off wind farm construction

China started construction of the country's first 10-gigawa wind power base in Jiuquan of northwest Gansu province on Saturday as Beijing seeks more clean power to fuel its fast economic growth.

China, the world's second-largest energy user, has said it would bring its total wind power capacity to 100 GW by 2020 from the current 12 GW, part of a broad energy target to generate 3 percent of total electricity from non-hydro renewable energy.

To that end, the National Energy Administration (NEA) has planned six 10GW-level wind power bases in areas rich in wind resources such as Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Hebei and Jiangsu.

The Jiuquan mega wind power base will be built in two phases. The first one, a 3.8 GW base comprising of 18 200-MW and two 100-MW wind farms, is developed by 20 developers and will be completed by 2010, Feng Jianshen, vice governor of Gansu, told reporters.

Chinese power firms Huaneng Power International and Datang International Power are among the developers, which also include six foreign firms, Feng said, without giving the names of the foreign investors.

Construction for the second phase, consisting of 40 200-MW wind farms will kick off in 2010 and be open to foreign investment, he said.

The installed wind power capacity of Jiuquan will jump to 5.16 GW by 2010, 12.71 GW by 2015 and 20 GW by 2020 from the current level of 660 MW, Feng said.

In the future, Jiuquan's wind power capacity could hit 40 GW, he added.

Read more: China kicks off wind farm construction - 4C Offshore

1/15/16

Denmark: Wind farms meet 42.1% of Denmark's power needs in 2015, new record

Wind power in Denmark met 42.1% of national consumption in 2015 and the figure would have been even higher if not for cable issues at the 400-MW Anholt and 209-MW Horns Rev 2 offshore wind farms.

Today national transmission system operator (TSO) Energinet.dk said that Denmark’s wind power share would have been around 43.5% if the offshore wind parks were operational throughout the year. Still, the achieved 42.1% represents an increase of over 2014’s 39.1% share and, also, a new record for wind in the country.

For more than 409 hours, wind power generation surpassed Denmark’s total electricity demand. On July 26 the country reached a 138.7% wind share.

Overall, winds in 2015 were much stronger than in 2014. The TSO noted that last year for the first time ever Denmark went a whole day without its large central power plants.

On September 2, power demand was met by wind, solar photovoltaics (PV), decentralised cogeneration and imports from neighboring countries.

Western Denmark, home to most of the country’s wind turbines, reached a wind share of 55% last year. For about 1,460 hours in 2015 the wind electricity produced in that part of Denmark surpassed demand.

In eastern Denmark the share of wind in total consumption stood at 23%.
Note EU-Digest: Globally, the average cost of wind is €76.00 ($83.00) per megawatt-hour. This is the levelized cost of electrical delivery.

How does it compare to other energy sources? Well the averages for coal and gas are €77.00 ($84.00) and €90.00 ($98.00)

In the USA, gas is slightly cheaper than wind, but this is the only large economy where that is the case.

As a comparison, solar photovoltaic energy averages €112.00 ($122.00) globally for each MW-hour.

Read more: Wind farms meet 42.1% of Denmark's power needs in 2015, new record - SeeNews Renewables

5/8/15

Poland - Windpower: Vortex energy constructing three wind farms of the output of 140 Megawatts in Poland

Vortex energy Polska Sp. z o.o. (Limited Liability Company) having its registered office in Szczecin, a project development company, has acquired KWE Sp z o.o. (Limited Liability Company) (Konin Wiatr Energia). The enterprise is a joint venture company established in collaboration with a project development company, Global Wind Energy Sp. z o.o., and the second largest Polish brown coal mine operator, PAK Kopalni Węgla Brunatnego Konin S.A. Upon acquisition, vortex energy took over the following three planned wind farms from KWE: Kazimierz Biskupi, Jóźwin 2A and Jóźwin 2B located in Central Poland.

Kazimierz Biskupi wind farm has been scheduled to go operational at the beginning of 2017. The JOZ 2A and JOZ 2B wind farms will probably be commissioned in 2018 or in 2019. Total output of the aforementioned three wind farms will amount to 140 Megawatts. In the past, brown coal was mined in the area. As the locations planned are neither afforested nor in the vicinity of housing areas, they are perfect for wind power generation purposes: wind turbines benefit from fixed wind power capacity and low shading effect. Moreover, probability of occurrence of conflicts with local residents caused by the shadow flicker effect and potential arduousness resulting from noise has been limited.

Usufruct of land has already been secured with relevant agreements. Moreover, KWE has already carried out geological / land surveying and environmental studies as well as wind measurements. "Once the shares have been purchases and control of the company has been taken over, we shall commence development of the farms', says Adam Pantkowski, President of the Poland-based company vortex energy Polska Sp. z o.o.

First, the project development company will analyse raw data obtained from wind measurements and results from the already completed surveys; afterwards, they will commence the process of obtaining further administrative permits and, consequently, the construction process itself. ‘Wind power generation optimisation will be the greatest challenge', adds Pantkowski.

Read more: vortex energy constructing three wind farms of the output of 140 Megawatts in Poland | AltEnergyMag

3/23/14

Alternative Energy: Wind-Power: Fort Lauderdale uses federal grant for wind-powered turbines

Traveling north on I-95 just south of Oakland Park Boulevard, motorists may have noticed four large spinning wind turbines. Turns out the heavily-trafficked location was not chosen by accident.

Fort Lauderdale recently installed four, 20-foot green wind blades that sit atop a 70-foot pole near I-95 not only to help power electric cars , but also to display its energy initiative. The city looked at various locations, but found Mills Pond Park, 2201 NW Ninth Ave., provides not only the necessary space with few permitting and zoning hurdles, but also a place where the city can showcase the turbines and educate the public on alternative energy.

"Mills Pond is such a popular park and so many families that go there, we thought it would be a good learning opportunity for kids to see and to ask questions," said Susy Torriente, assistant city manager for Fort Lauderdale. "It's a perfect location to catch people's attention and start talking about different types of energy."

Installing the charging striations was made possible by a federal grant the city received from the Department of Energy. The city researched various studies and saw a growing need for electric car charging stations.

"It's about planning for the future," Torriente said. "As more time passes, there's going to be more of a need for those kinds of amenities and we need to start thinking about alternative energy sources."

While enjoying the park, officials hope park users will also charge their electronic car >batteries which they can do for free.

Fort Lauderdale also produced information fliers on the city's website and at Mills Pond Park to help educate residents about the features of the wind turbines and how they operate.

"It allowed us to do something very different and innovative," Torriente said.

or more information, visit http://www.fortlauderdale.gov.

3/15/14

Alternative energy: EU Power Sector Amiable, But Wind Chiefs Under no Illusions - by Diarmaid Williams

Alternative energy and interconnection capacity

Joking with someone in the GE Power and Water Renewable Energy team at the European Wind Energy Association event in Barcelona this week, I asked her if those on the conventional power side and those on her own unit sat at opposite ends of the GE HQ cafeteria in Schenctady, New York. Her answer reinforced a consensus I hear a lot in energy sectors.

She reassured me that there was a collegiate atmosphere, with no "them and us" mentality. In fact many of the people involved had served in both the renewables and fossil fuel power businesses. Somewhat disappointed that the air in that part of upstate New York wasn’t thick with intrigue inspired by competitive world views, I expressed my surprise.

She was quick to tell me something that somewhat explained the fraternal nature of the company’s inter-departmental relations, something easily forgotten amid the propaganda and politicking that confuses the overall power generation picture at times; “We are going to need all power sources to play a part, it’s not just any one technology,” she said.

Europe’s wind energy officials in Spain this week weren’t quite so generous about the other power-amiable generators outside their own orbit, but there was realism evident in key note speeches and debates about wind technology’s limitations and what it needed to do in order to be fully credible as a means of driving Europe’s economy and energy future.

The EWEA’s Poul La Cour prize-winner for 2014, Eddie O’Connor, placed emphasis on the fact that without greater lobbying for an expansion of the bloc’s interconnection capacity, the sector’s progress in Europe is going to be severely handicapped. He added that “by and large most states in Europe have insufficient interconnection.”

Read moreEU Power Sector Amiable, But Wind Chiefs Under no Illusions

2/22/14

Alternative energy: Wind Farms Blow Away Old Criticism -- Research Shows That Wind Turbines Remain Productive For Up To 25 Years

While wind energy has become an increasingly common development choice in recent years, there has been some criticism of the technology — of particular interest in that regard was a study released relatively recently that suggested that electricity output from wind turbines declines by a third after only ten years of operation.

It turns out, though, according to new research from the Imperial College Business School (utilizing local wind speed data from NASA), that that worry is unfounded — wind turbines can remain productive, with no need of upgrade, for up to 25 years. The previous work, which was based entirely on a (questionable) statistical model, simply didn’t reflect the reality in the field.

The new work was simply a “comprehensive nationwide analysis of the UK fleet of wind turbines, using local wind speed data from NASA” — an analysis that showed that the “UK’s earliest turbines, built in the 1990s, are still producing three-quarters of their original output after 19 years of operation, nearly twice the amount previously claimed, and will operate effectively up to 25 years.” So much for the doom-saying. :)

The new findings show that wind turbine longevity is directly comparable to that of the gas turbines used in power stations.

The new work was simply a “comprehensive nationwide analysis of the UK fleet of wind turbines, using local wind speed data from NASA” — an analysis that showed that the “UK’s earliest turbines, built in the 1990s, are still producing three-quarters of their original output after 19 years of operation, nearly twice the amount previously claimed, and will operate effectively up to 25 years.” So much for the doom-saying.

The new findings show that wind turbine longevity is directly comparable to that of the gas turbines used in power stations.

Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2014/02/21/wind-farms-blow-away-old-criticism-research-shows-wind-turbines-remain-productive-25-years/#2SIzuvzCsDTudwWP.99

12/2/13

Wind Power Could Supply 18% of World’s Power by 2050 says IEA - by Sonal Patel

Up to 18% of the world’s electricity could be generated with wind energy by 2050, but the massive jump from 2.6% today would require the nearly 300 GW of current wind capacity worldwide to increase eight- to tenfold and cost nearly $150 billion a year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in an updated assessment of the world’s wind power.

The Paris-based autonomous energy agency now sees a much larger penetration of wind power than the 12% by 2050 share forecast in its previous 2009 edition of the “Technology Roadmap: Wind Energy.” Forecasts put China as the world’s future wind power leader, overtaking European members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development by about 2020 or 2025, with the U.S. ranked third.

But IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven cautioned that much more remains to be done before that increased share of wind is achieved, so that a global energy-related carbon dioxide target of 50% below current levels can be reached by 2050. “There is a continuing need for improved technology,” she said. “Increasing levels of low-cost wind still require predictable, supportive regulatory environments, and appropriate market designs. The challenges of integrating higher levels of variable wind power into the grid must be tackled. And for offshore wind—still at the early stages of the deployment journey—much remains to be done to develop appropriate large-scale systems and to reduce costs.”

Since 2008, the report notes, wind power deployment has more than doubled on the back of technological developments that have boosted energy yields and reduced operation and maintenance costs. Today, wind power provides 30% of Denmark’s total generation, 20% of Portugal’s, and 18% of Spain’s. The report finds that wind power has only received 2% of the world’s public energy research and development funding. Yet, costs have fallen: Land-based wind power generation costs range from $60/MWh to $130/MWh at most sites, and it can be competitive “where wind resources and financing conditions are favorable,” the IEA says, but “it still requires support in most countries.”

Trends in the world’s wind sector noted by the agency include the large-scale deployment of offshore wind farms (though the IEA points out this is limited mostly to Europe), an increasing number of turbines being installed in cold climates, and a rise in repowering old wind turbines with more modern and productive equipment. Repowering in particular is slated to grow tremendously over the next five years, increasing power generation at repowered sites from 1.5 TWh to 8.2 TWh by 2020.

Wind market shares have also seen dramatic changes over the last five years, though most wind turbine manufacturers are concentrated in six countries: the U.S., Denmark, Germany, Spain, India, and China. China’s six largest wind companies alone have exceeded the majority 20% market share in recent years.

Read more: IEA: Wind Power Could Supply 18% of World’s Power by 2050 | POWER Magazine

11/23/13

Alternative Energy - Windpower: Pennsylvania New State Report: Wind power saves water and protects air

A new report says wind energy in Pennsylvania is yielding environmental benefits by saving water and avoiding pollution that contributes to climate change.

The report released Wednesday by the environmentalist group PennEnvironment says Pennsylvania’s two dozen wind farms annually save nearly 600 million gallons of water that otherwise would be needed to cool power plants.

The report says the use of wind energy in Pennsylvania last year avoided emissions of more than 1,200 tons of smog-causing nitrogen oxides and more than 1,500 tons of sulfur dioxide that causes acid rain and soot.

State Sen. Daylin Leach, a Montgomery County Democrat who’s running for Congress next year, says development of wind energy should be encouraged because it creates jobs while preserving natural resources.

Read more: New State Report: Wind power saves water and protects air » News » The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

9/22/13

Denmark: Vestas US Subsidiary lands big order for wind farms - by Cathy Proctor

Two Colorado companies are teaming up to build more wind farms across the United States.

Danish Vestas Wind Systems, with four manufacturing plants along Colorado’s Front Range, said Friday it’s reached an agreement to supply up to 610 megawatts worth of wind turbines to Broomfield’s Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. — better known as RES Americas.

Vestas also announced Friday it had received the first order from the RES supply agreement, for 60 megawatts worth of wind turbines.

The agreement calls for Vestas to supply its V100-2.0 MW turbine for all of RES’s wind farm projects, up to 610 megawatts. Those projects are expected to happen in 2014 and 2015.

The two companies previously worked together building the Cedar Point wind farm near Limon, in eastern Colorado.

The Cedar Point wind farm, which started operations in 2011, has 139 of Vestas’ V90-1.8 megawatt turbines. It’s capable of generating up to 250 megawatts of electricity.

The wind farm was the first large-scale project to use Vestas’s Colorado-made turbines.
Vestas said it couldn’t say where the turbines destined for RES’s projects would go in the United States.

Read more: Vestas lands big order for wind farms - Denver Business Journal

7/30/13

Australia: Wind acquisitions soar in 2013 - by Darius Snieckus

The largest deal by value was PG&E’s acquisition of Puget Sound Energy’s 267MW Lower Snake River phase II wind farm in the US for $535m, followed by SSE’s take-over of Scotland’s 99MW Dunmaglass project from RES for $305m.

Palisade and Northleaf’s joint purchase of a 75% stake in Australia’s 111MW Waterloo project from EnergyAustralia for $227m, Lukerg Renew buy-up of the 70MW Gebeleisis development in Romania from Vestas for $144m, and Denmark’s Pension Fund Administrator compatriot energy outfit SE’s take-over of Dong’s 196MW onshore wind business for $133m,
Read more: Wind acquisitions soar in 2013 -Recharge News

9/29/12

Wind energy blowing away nuclear power

Wind energy supplies 3 percent of global electricity needs and will soon supply more electricity than nuclear power. In 2011, some 50 billion euros were invested in wind, leading some to say it's cheap and creates jobs.

Wind energy is booming and it is gaining in significance worldwide. It supplies some 20 percent of electricity in Spain and Denmark as well as about 10 percent in Germany. By 2020, the share of wind energy will have risen to between 20 percent and 25 percent in Germany, according to estimates.

Last year, new wind power plants with a total capacity of some 40 gigawatts (GW) were installed worldwide, according to the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA). This puts wind energy's global capacity at 237 GW by the end of 2011- the equivalent of what some 280 nuclear power plants generate. Currently, there are some 380 nuclear power plants producing electricity worldwide.

Read more: Wind energy blowing away nuclear power | Environment | DW.DE | 22.04.2012

8/13/12

EU Offshore Wind Having Best Year Ever, but Turbine Orders Slowing - by Stephen Lacey

Battling severe economic headwinds, Europe’s wind industry has picked up the pace and substantially increased offshore projects developed in the region.

According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), developers connected 132 turbines to the grid in the first half of this year. Those turbines, which have the cumulative capacity to generate 523 megawatts, represent a 50 percent increase over the first half of 2011.

As EWEA points out: 2012 has turned into a surprisingly good year for offshore wind in Europe: 2012 could turn out to be the best year ever for offshore wind energy in Europe, as a further 160 turbines, totaling 647.4 MW, are built but awaiting grid connection. But this is subject to weather conditions at sea and grid connection delays.

3/26/12

Denmark aims to get 50% of all electricity from wind power

The Danish government has stepped up its green energy and carbon reduction targets for 2020, hailing the plan as the "broadest, greenest, and most long-term energy agreement" it has ever reached.
Danish minister for climate, energy and building, Martin Lidegaard, confirmed on Friday that parliament had agreed a new set of goals designed to wean the country off oil and gas.

The deal aims to see Denmark cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 34% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels and decrease energy consumption by more than 12% compared to 2006.

For more: Denmark aims to get 50% of all electricity from wind power | Environment | guardian.co.uk

1/9/12

EU energy research funding puts 2020 alternative energy targets at risk

The European Commission today unveiled 'Horizon 2020' - its proposal for a new Framework Program for Research and Innovation for the seven years from 2014 to 2020.   

EU funds for non-nuclear energy R&D double in the new research budget proposed today by the European Commission - but are nothing like enough to fund what the European Commission says is necessary to achieve its 2020 targets.   

Under the proposal, all non-nuclear energy gets only 7.5% of the research budget - 6.5bn Euros out of 87.7bn Euros. Nuclear alone gets 1.8bn Euros for just five years under Euratom - as well as additional funds for ITER (and even a slice of the SET Plan).  R&D for low-carbon technologies (contained in the SET Plan as part of the 6.5bn Euros for non-nuclear energy) appears to be severely underfunded in the proposal published today.   
For more: European Wind Energy Association - EWEA: EU energy research funding puts 2020 targets at risk

Illustration: EU-digest

1/21/11

Windpower: Britain is the world leader in wind power

Figures released today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) confirm that the United Kingdom is the world leader in the wind power sector with 1,342 megawatts (MW) installed.

In Europe, Britain’s lead is followed by Denmark (854 MW), Holland (249 MW), Belgium (195 MW) and Sweden (164 MW). Germany, Ireland, Finland and Norway have a combined 145 MW between them. The UK’s strong performance, with wind power making up around 45 per cent of the total capacity installed (2,946 MW) will make happy reading for wind power advocates.

For more: Britain is the world leader in wind power | Left Foot Forward

2/4/10

European Union Beats Expectations, Grows Wind Power Capacity in 2009 - by Brendan Demelle

The European Union installed more new wind power capacity in 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, according to a new analysis by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Fully 39% of all new capacity installed last year in the EU was wind power, followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics (16%). All told, renewable energy technologies accounted for 61% of new power generating capacity in Europe in 2009.

It was also clearly an ‘out with the old, in with the new’ year, as Europe decommissioned more coal and nuclear capacity than it installed in 2009. The coal power sector decommissioned 3,200 megawatts of capacity in 2009, while the nuclear sector cut 1,393 megawatts. The European Union’s total wind capacity has now reached 74,767 MW, with the potential to produce 163 TWh of electricity, meeting 4.8% of total EU power demand. Financing woes that were expected to set the industry back turned out to be much ado about nothing, as €13 billion ($18 billion) in investments were pumped into new European wind farms in 2009, including €1.5 billion ($2 billion) offshore.

This was the second year in a row that Europe installed more wind power capacity than any other electricity-generating technology, and also the second year running that renewable energies have accounted for the majority of new investments. Germany held onto its lead role as the EU country with the largest installed capacity, followed by Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

“It is a remarkable result in a difficult year” said Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA. “The figures, once again, confirm that wind power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions, while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for Europe’s citizens.” Looking ahead to 2010, Kjaer added: “I am quite optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe, but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the 10 GW installed this year.”

For more: European Union Beats Expectations, Grows Wind Power Capacity in 2009 | Brendan Demelle

Global wind power boom continues - Half a million people now employed by the wind industry around the world

The Global Wind Energy Council in Bruxelles Belgium announced recently that the world’s wind power capacity grew by 31% in 2009, adding 37.5 GW to bring total installations up to 157.9 GW. A third of these additions were made in China, which experienced yet another year of over 100% growth.

“The continued rapid growth of wind power despite the financial crisis and economic downturn is testament to the inherent attractiveness of the technology, which is clean, reliable and quick to install. Wind power has become the power technology of choice a growing number of countries around the world,” said Steve Sawyer, GWEC’s Secretary General. “Copenhagen didn’t bring us any closer to a global price on carbon, but wind energy continued to grow due to national energy policy in our main markets and also because many governments in prioritised renewable energy development in their economic recovery plans,” he said.

Wind energy is now an important player in the world’s energy markets. The global wind market for turbine installations in 2009 was worth about 45 bn EUR or 63 bn US$. GWEC estimates that around half a million people are now employed by the wind industry around the world.

For more: Global Wind Energy Council - GWEC: Global wind power boom continues despite economic woes

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