Wind is here to stay

Sunny Barcelona offered an ideal setting for the EWEA 2014 Wind Energy event, although it was clear that wind power development in Spain has collapsed. This is just one example of how dynamically the wind power market can shift from one country to another.

At the conference, many great keynote speakers gave very positive speeches about the importance of wind in electricity macroeconomics. Portugal’s Deputy Minister of Energy told how the annual wind power expansion of 28% has been a real success story for the country, which is suffering from the financial crisis. Also IEA (International Energy Agency) representative Maria van der Hoeven presented future energy scenarios in which wind plays a large role.

In the turbine and utility CEO session, levelized cost of energy (LCOE) was mentioned by practically everyone. This creates a positive setting for new and better turbine technology.

Our daily work is quite far away from macroeconomics, but a strong and broad support for wind power globally is essential. The mood, too, at the exhibition was more positive. Many of the turbine manufacturers are making positive results again, but are still quite cautious.

This is reflected in the development of new technology for turbines. The major efforts have been around the longer blades, which have bought some additional time for existing turbine designs. Also, everyone is studying more optimized electrical drive trains to meet grid codes and the requirement of feeding in reactive power without additional capacitors or deviations to the requirements. At the same time, Chinese companies like Goldwind and Dongfang are promoting more modern PM machines and full power converters.

European turbine manufacturers are more cautious of making decisions to upgrade turbines with modern drive trains. Large numbers of developers and markets are still not that interested in LCOE or grid performance, but are focused instead on upfront turbine prices. These markets can be addressed with double-fed drive trains. Yet, the demand for the premium turbines is increasing, as the penetration of wind and solar increases and the renewable sources have to better support the network.

All in all, EWEA confirmed that wind power is still here to stay. It will still take time to regain a healthy supply and demand situation, and we may see some structural changes in companies and consolidation before we are once more on solid footing in the industry.

The wind power is in the playbooks of many countries to solve their future energy demands and environmental challenges. Therefore, the geographical balance may change within the markets, but growth will continue.

J-P