European Developments

EWEA Conference on Offshore wind

So far Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Britain have installed around 100MW of offshore wind turbines. But more is to come. Ruud de Bruijne, spokesman for COD, Collaboration on Offshore Wind Energy Development, speaking at a three-day EWEA offshore wind energy conference in Brussels, claimed that "Towards 2005 we will see small-scale 100-150MW offshore wind farms in a water depth of less than 20 metres (60 ft). By 2010 we will see units of more than 500 megawatt on water depths of more than 20 metres." However Andrew Garrard, partner in British consulting group Garrad Hassan, warned that "Offshore projects today are not big enough. We have to look into gigawatt projects not megawatt ones."

"There is a shortage of good onshore wind farm sites in Denmark and northern Germany. Onshore growth is deteriorating and offshore wind farms are a natural way out," according to Jos Beurskens, vice president for the European Wind Energy Association. "Spain is really the only European country which has the potential, like the U.S., for onshore wind farms," said Andrew Garrad.

Offshore was therefore the obvious next step in many places. Denmark plans to build offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 750 MW by 2008, Belgium plans to install 325 MW and the UK has granted 18 licenses for a potential 1,000-1,500 MW. Germany is developing a plan for a 1,000 MW offshore farm, and all in all there are plans for around 5,300 MW of offshore wind farm in Europe.

"Studies indicate that 2,500 offshore megawatts will be in operation by 2005, generating an amount of electricity equivalent to the needs of two million European households and creating some 50,000 jobs in the sector," the EWEA said. By 2020, there could be 50,000 MW of offshore wind capacity, with the onshore capacity being around 100,000 MW. COD’s Bruijne said the North Sea and the Baltic have 90% of the offshore potential in Europe. In southern Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean, water is too deep, making offshore projects too expensive.

Source: info from EWEA/ PRASEG

Worlds largest Offshore wind farm for Eire

The Irish Government has approved the construction of what they claim will be the worlds largest wind farm, with 200 windturbines on a sand bank off the coast of Co Wicklow - ‘three times the combined size of all the other offshore winds farms in the world’ as the Irish Independent put it. Certainly, at 520 MW, it will be nearly as big as the on land wind farm proposed for the Scottish Isle of Lewis (see Renew 136) and definitely the largest offshore wind farm so far.

The Arklow Banks Farm will be built five miles out to sea and is expected to eventually provide 10% of Ireland’s electricity. The euro 640m plan will involve siting 200 giant turbines on a sandbank 10km off Arklow, Co Wicklow. The sandbank is located due east of the Wicklow town. It spans 27km by 2.5km and runs north to south.

The Irish Independent reported that the successful application for a foreshore license was made by the Eirtricity company headed by former Bord na Mona boss Eddie O’Connor. Work on the ambitious project is expected to start this year and will mean hundreds of jobs during construction. An environmental impact statement has been carried out on the wind farm and the decision to approve a foreshore license for the project, effectively a planning permission at sea, has been announced by Marine Minister Frank Fahey. The State will evidently receive a fee from the operators based on the amount of power generated.

According the the Irish Independent, the ‘wind park’ will be developed on a phased basis. The site was chosen because it is close to the shoreline in shallow water, and close to the national grid. An exclusion zone for shipping will be set up round the turbines, although ships already avoid the Arklow sandbank which is known to be dangerous.

Eirtricity already has two wind farms and another two under construction, and claims to be offering customers its electricity for 10% less than other producers.

The sandbank is 7km from the Arklow coast at its nearest point, and 10km at its furthest. The company says that the turbines will not create any major visual impact because of their location. The Department of the Marine claims the offshore wind farm will have absolutely no environmental downside. Indeed, officials insist that it will foster marine life, because the turbines will attract species in the way deep sea ship wrecks become havens for varieties of fish and other marine creatures. They also feel the exclusion zone will help to protect fish.

Wind grows by 30% Electricity production from wind leapt by 31% last year, making it the fastest growing industry in the field of power generation, according the earth Policy Institute in Washington DC. With the newest turbines on the best sites, wind is now the cheapest method of producing electricity, and huge building programmes have begun worldwide. Global capacity climbed from 17,800 to 23,300 megawatts - sufficient to meet the electricity needs of 23m people, the combined population of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Since 1995, global wind-generating capacity has increased nearly fivefold - and the Danes now get 18% of their electricity from wind, although (see later) problems are now emerging with the funding system.

World’s largest solar energy project - Denmark

Valby, in Copenhagen, will be the site of the world’s largest solar energy project involving the installation of solar cells in an urban area the size of 20 football fields. Over the next 25 years, 150,000 m2 of solar cells will be installed mainly on the roofs of residential homes and other buildings in the outer Copenhagen district of Valby. The first 5000m2 should be in place in 4 years.

The Urban Renewal Company along with others such as Copenhagen Energy and Valby District Council are behind the ambitious initiative. Once complete, the solar cells will produce up to 15% of the district’s energy demand, according to the project leader Jakob Klint from URC. ‘This is an immense project as it concerns a large urban area, and also requires a significant financial input,’ Klint told the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten. However, the project is likely to be a costly affair for Valby's 40,000 residents during the first few years of its implementation, as they will be expected to cover part of the estimated total cost of DKK 15 million. ‘The project can only be carried through if private owners and companies are willing to participate. The idea is that they will cover the costs of purchase and installation of the solar cells’, said Klint.

A typical family will be able to save DKK 3,700 a year once the solar panels are in place. However, the price of will run into the tens of thousands, so it could take up to 10 years before the residents of Valby feel any benefit. Klint, however, is convinced that the project will, in the long run, be economically sustainable for residents.

‘We expect to receive governmental and other forms of financial support, such as EU funding. Additionally, prices of solar panels are halving every 7 years. Therefore we believe that the project will in the long run only require private investments to succeed,’ said Klint. He emphasises, however, that residents should first and foremost see the initiative as an investment in improving Valby's environment.

The solar cells will help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as reduce air pollution. Thomas Brængaard Nielsen, from Copenhagen Energy, agrees with Klint that the residents of Valby must consider this as a long-term investment.‘Electricity prices are unlikely to fall during the next few years. It is the future perspective that should drive the initiative and residents' interest to participate’s. He emphasises that solar cells are part of the future of public energy supply in Denmark. During 2002 the project plans will be aired at a hearing amongst Valby’s residents. But, politicians in Valby’s City Council are evidently already keen on the idea.

Source: Copenhagen Post, 28 November 2001. Lets hope the new political situation in Denmark does not disrupt this project.

REFIT works best

EU member states that achieved above-average growth in one or more area of renewable energy during the 1990s were successful because they introduced the right combination of incentives, concludes a report by the European Environment Agency . The report analyses eight instances in four member states over the period 1993-99 where output of one type of renewable energy grew faster than the EU average and also contributed at least 10% of the EU-wide increase.

The success stories were: solar PV, solar thermal and wind in Germany; solar thermal and biomass for district heating in Austria; PV and wind in Spain; and biomass for district heating in Sweden. A further 15 smaller-scale successes are also discussed, with only the UK, Belgium and Luxembourg failing to be singled out for some type of praise.

The report concludes that key government actions for success are: long established energy policies promoting renewables; financial support for capital costs and renewable generation; good grid access for renewables; taxes penalising fossil fuel use and/or tax breaks for renewables purchase; administrative assistance; priority to R&D; and education, information and training campaigns. Financial support systems had a big impact. The report points out that three countries that guaranteed purchase prices of wind-generated electricity - Germany, Denmark and Spain - contributed 80% of new EU wind energy output during the period. This suggests that feed-in laws work better than the competitive tendering mechanism adopted by Ireland and the UK, a point reinforced by the problems now being experienced in Denmark (see below). Other success factors include local and regional targets for renewable uptake, planning guidance for renewable projects, and revision of building regs to promote PV/solar .

From Environment Daily Report available from: http://reports.eea.eu.int/environmental_issue_report_2001_27/en

Danish wind stalled

Things really seem to be going badly in Denmark. On top of the dramatic cuts in funding for renewables (see Renew 136), Denmarks troubled green certificate system has led to collapse of the Danish wind energy market, according to the World Wind Energy Association.

In 2000, 600MW of new capacity was installed, based on orders made with guaranteed minimum prices. But in 2001, new installations dropped to 18 MW during the first half of the year. WWEA blames the 1999 decision to replace the guaranteed price REFIT styled system by a green certificate trading system, something like the UK’s Renewable Obligation Certificate trading system. WWEA note that more than 80% (1,144 MW) of the 1,388 MW installed around the world in the first half of 2002 were installed in three countries with guaranteed minimum prices: Germany, Italy and Spain. In countries with quota/certificate systems, including Denmark, , the UK, USA and the Netherlands, only 75MW were installed. France and Brazil have decided to introduce minimum price systems which recognize the success of this framework.

The WWEA is encouraging the Danish government to abandon the certificate system, and is trying to discourage other countries from pursuing similar tariff models. It says that "the return of Denmark to the most efficient and effective promotion system for renewable energies would be an important signal for the global dissemination of wind energy". The WWEA is organising a major international wind conference, in Berlin, in July, and, as we noted in Renew 134, along with the German wind association BWE, seems to be in conflict with the European Wind Energy Association, which thinks REFIT type schemes should be replaced by competitive trading schemes.

German subsidies saved

The German parliament recently formally ratified the Kyoto accord - the first EU government to do so. It has also overruled Economics Minister Werner Mueller, who wanted to cut financial support for renewables by 100m marks. Instead subsidies for solar, biogas and geothermal energy will be raised to 400 million marks, from 300m in 2001. The minister had also wanted to cut the government's renewable R&D by 65m marks to 235m marks, but the parliamentary committee decided to cut the budget by less to 274m marks