- Category: Publishers Note
Searching for the higher winds…
Wind farm developers try to maximise the output of wind farms as much as possible to make them more cost-efficient. Turbine manufacturers continue to develop larger turbines. A result of this is that turbines become bigger, with larger rotor diameter and higher hub height. But bigger turbines mean that new issues such as wind measurement, manufacturing and transportation need to be addressed.
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- Category: Publishers Note
Turbine Shortage …
With EWEC 2006 in Athens, the season of events has started. Overall the EWEC was successful although it did highlight the fact that the industry faces some serious problems. One of the main issues is the shortage of turbines. Most manufacturers and suppliers do not have enough capacity to produce the demanded number of turbines. If the expected (and hoped for) growth continues, the industry may fail to deliver. Most manufacturers are setting up production facilities in growth markets such as Asia and the USA. But turbines that are in production at the moment are already sold and for new orders the delivery time is longer than we would all want. For the manufacturers it is good to have a full order book, but if wind energy is to become a real mainstream energy source the capacity issue needs to be solved or otherwise the future of the industry might be discredited. On page 10 you can read more about EWEC 2006.
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- Category: Publishers Note
Solving the Storage Problem …
The wind energy business is becoming more and more an international industry. Europe, the USA and India are the driving forces, but other nations are also becoming active in this field. One of the biggest growth markets seems to be China. The Chinese government’s initial target is for wind power generation to reach 4,000MW by 2010. By 2020, up to 12% of China’s electricity could come from renewable sources. Over the past years, the international wind power capacity has continued to grow at an average cumulative rate of 29%. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the future prospects of the global wind industry are very promising: even on a conventional scenario the total wind power installed worldwide could quadruple from 40GW in 2003 to 160GW by 2012.
- Category: Publishers Note
Setting Goals …
The year 2006 started with a battle between Russia and Ukraine about supplying gas to the latter. Whatever the reason, and without taking a position on who is right or wrong, the dispute showed the dependency of the international energy market on countries that possess fossil fuels such as gas. Because of the conflict, Russia decreased the amount of gas sent to Ukraine, an important hub for the distribution of gas to Western Europe, and several countries suffered problems due to halving of the gas supply. Such situations could be an opportunity to get renewable energy higher on the international political agenda, although our industry still faces the opinion that the majority of consumers are not willing to pay more for renewable energy compared to fossil energy. There are two main goals I would say: increase the public awareness of renewable energy’s importance and make sure that it becomes competitive!
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- Category: Publishers Note
A Successful First Year…
We all know how devastating hurricanes and typhoons can be. The disaster in the southern states of the USA earlier this year clearly pointed that out. There are wind farms built in regions that have to risk encounters with these kinds of weather systems.
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- Category: Publishers Note
News from Husum…
The biannual event HUSUMwind took place from 20 to 24 September. With over 500 exhibitors from 26 countries this show has a prominent position on the events calendar for our industry. Many companies launch their new products and announce their latest news at the show. If you want to stay up to date you need to go to Husum.
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- Category: Publishers Note
Results of the Reader Survey
As you maybe know, we recently conducted a reader survey and the results show that Windtech International is succeeding in its goals. Of our respondents, 67% regard the quality of the magazine as excellent or good and 27% as satisfying. Only 5% see room for improvement. On average, the magazine is read by 3.1 persons within each organisation. This means that Windtech International reaches around 12,000 people in the industry. I would like to thank all participants for helping us to continue to improve our magazine and I welcome your suggestions.