Wind farms are going to proliferate in Europe’s coastal waters. This was revealed by an analysis at Reuters, who had seen a draft of EU energy strategies. This is going to provide both threats and opportunities for industries.
It is the first time ever that the 27 member’s states of the European Union join to establish “National Renewable Energy Action Plans” for 2020.
Many countries have already submitted their plans to the European Commission. However, the official plans have not been made public.
However, from Reuters standpoint, most of the drafted plans predict an expansion in onshore wind-farm capacity – Germany by 30 percent, Spain by 74 percent, Ireland by 130 percent and Italy by 230 percent.
Offshore wind farms are even expected to spread out even more. Today, offshore wind energy is virtually zero in the European zone. Yet, it might rise enormously in the years to come. This includes 1,000 MW in Italy, 2,300 MW in Ireland, 3,000 MW in Spain and 10,000 MW in Germany. England alone is planning to make use of its offshore wind capacity as well.
This will eventually represent a stupendous opportunity for the wind industry. However, such an enormous growth is also a colossal challenge for the wind industry to handle.
Justin Wilkes who is the policy director at the European Wind Energy Association said, “For offshore wind, we will need significant investments in infrastructure, such as grids, harbours and vessels that can accommodate and transport machines the size of offshore wind turbines across the sea,”
The drafted plans give an overview of European governments’ vision of a renewable future. However, there is no clue related to how these strategies are going to be implemented. Fundamentally, financial support such as subsidies and grants will probably play a key role as well as political will.
According to Erik Peeters who is the vice president of Dow Corning Crop’s solar business, “Policy changes can be devastating to industry and really stifle investment,” … and he believes in innovative ideas rather than retroactive change polices.
The world’s second-largest solar generator, Spain, is actually restructuring its subsidy system, which is worrying investors.
The expected increase in solar-power capacity in Europe is gigantic. According to the drafted plans, solar capacity will expand in Spain by 189%, in Germany by roughly 300 % and in Italy with an Olympian rise of 500 percent.
Unfortunately, Europe is currently struggling in one of its deepest recession since the Great Depression (1930s). This can render sources of finance problematic and a major concern.
According to Adam Brown from International Energy Agency, the world is actually only disbursing half of the money required to meet climate goals. The worldwide investments required to reach the climate goal is USD239 billion per annum, up to 2030. However, the current expenditure is roughly USD 110-billion.
The financial crisis is the culprit of the under-spending on renewable energy. However, renewable energy campaigners refuse to blame the financial crisis and consider it not to be a valid excuse for unmatched spending on renewable energy.
According to, Lucie Tesnière, from the European Renewable Energy Council, it is necessary to establish a strong industry with future orientation. Moreover, “In economically challenging times” job creation is an essential governmental policy.
Moreover, Dow Corning’s Peeters says that the biggest obstacle for photovoltaic power is mostly administrative barriers. In Italy, permits are slowing developments. Yet, within five years, PV cells might grow desirable. An example is Belgium, which has the lowest solar radiation apart from Scandinavia but this year they have installed 200 MW. It is a relatively high capacity per capita basis.
Fortunately, Peeters, recently moved to Belgium from United States, and he is planning to install solar panels on his roof by September. He also pinpointed that as a normal resident in Michigan (US) this would practically be unattainable.
The drafted plans do also have scope for other sources of energy. There are massive plans for investment in biomass, in Eastern Europe. Poland plans to establish 1,425 MW from biomass generating capacity and Bulgaria plans for 433 MW.
However, Philip Lowe who is the director General for energy at the European Commission said that transparently, charges levied by environmentalists has empirical evidence that energy from biomass can sometimes cause more harm than good. Therefore, he said that it is necessary to be realistic when adopting new renewable solutions. The focus should not only be on energy generated but also on the sustainable aspect of development as well.
Source: News Center
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