Offshore Wind Euro Style
Offshore Wind to Meet EU's 20% Renewables Target
As politicians on the local, regional and national level scale deployment of offshore wind in the coming 13 years. tend to foot-drag when it comes to commiting actual One key recommendation was the call for a European resources to developing renewable energies, Europe again action plan for offshore wind which was then confirmed leads the way with firm commitments to increasing the by the Commission. Others included establishing stable, size and scope of offshore wind farms in a bid to meet its long-term markets for offshore wind, increasing research 20% renewable energy target by 2020. and technological development, improving grid integraWhile wind farms situated offshore tend to draw the ire tion and facilitating efficient planning procedures. of groups as diverse as tourism, fishing and environmen- EWEA's report estimates that, if barriers are removed, up talist, it is proven time and again that wind power based to 40 GW of offshore wind energy could be operating in offshore -- able to take advantage of steadier, stronger the European Union by 2020, supplying 4% of Europe's winds -- tend to be more productive than land-based sys- electricity. tems. Installation and maintenance costs and issues While the majority of wind installations in Europe are notwithstanding, when compared to land-based units, currently situated onshore, the strongest and most conmuch research has been invested in optimizing sytems for stant wind can be found off the continent's northern and the offshore environment, from fixed fields to floating "oil western coasts. The first offshore wind farm -- an 11-turrig-like" structures. bine installation in "In the 1970s, oil helped us overcome an At last year's Offshore Vindeby, Denmark -- has Wind Conference in Berlin, been operational since energy crisis. Today, offshore wind can do 1991. By the end of 2006, Germany, EWEA president Arthouros Zervos called for 18 offshore wind projects the same." a Joint Technology in five countries added up -- Kaj Lindvig, A2SEA executive officer Initiative for offshore wind to nearly 900 MW of elecpower. This would use joint tricity generation. public and private partnerships and funds to advance the Accounting for just 1.8% of the total installed wind power sector's development. He said that such an initiative capacity, they nevertheless provided 3.3% of all electricity would "create the necessary onshore and offshore infra- generated by wind power. By 2015, current and planned structure" and that it "should be considered for the pur- offshore developments in eight EU countries could reach pose of increasing renewables, reducing carbon emissions 15 GW. By 2020, if the existing barriers to the developand improving the functioning of the internal energy mar- ment of this technology are removed, EWEA estimates ket through larger interconnectors". that this figure could increase to 40 GW of offshore wind The 2020 energy target could mean 34% of electricity power in EU waters. provided by renewables, according to the European "I see a big need to develop offshore technology in a way Commission. Wind energy can produce 12% of total elec- that best leverages its potential as a large-scale, cost-effectricity -- equivalent to more than a third of the electrici- tive energy source," said Maud Olofsson, Deputy Prime ty target -- but only if offshore wind is developed. Minister of Sweden and Minister of Enterprise and In response to the 2020 target, the wind industry has Energy. "The Swedish government supports this at home put together a series of policy recommendations for large- through initiatives like R&D and demonstration projects.
44 MTR
June 2008
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