WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin April 2018
30 March 2018
CEO Foreword
Dear WindEurope Member,
Last month the European Parliament voted on reforms to Europe’s electricity markets – to make them fit for renewables. This is part of the EU’s Clean Energy Package. The Parliament’s vote is not the final deal. They still have to agree the detail with the EU Member States. The Parliament and Member States agree on some things already but disagree still on others. The video above summarises where things stand. The main points are:
- the rules on electricity trading will be harmonised in such a way that will allow renewable energy to be sold closer to the time it is produced. This will help to reduce forecast errors and costs for balancing the grid. There’ll be more cross-border trading too, allowing electricity to flow from where it is abundant to large consumption centres;
- priority dispatch will remain in place for all existing wind farms. For new wind farms from 2020, priority dispatch will be phased out and replaced by new rules on how energy is curtailed when the grid is congested. Renewables will be last curtailed and compensated for the lost revenue;
- balancing responsibility will be mandatory both for new and existing installations. Renewables will no longer be exempted from compensating Transmission System Operators for any deviations from their projected generation. It’s a universal obligation for anyone producing or buying electricity. But it may imply more costs for smaller wind farms that would need to delegate this to third parties. We don’t yet have a guarantee that the price for this will be fair. It’s a priority for us to correct this in the negotiations to come; and
- on capacity mechanisms there is still disagreement between the Parliament and the Member States. The Parliament wants to them to be a last resort only. And only used if a Europe-wide review has identified a security of supply risk in the country. The Council say let’s have national assessments of security of supply, which take account of energy trade between Member States. The Parliament and Council also disagree on when to apply CO2 limits for capacity payments. The Parliament want to end capacity payments for new coal plants immediately and end them for existing ones from 2025. The Council want to do it later: 2025 for new plants and 2030 for existing ones.
So what happens now? Tough negotiations on these four points are now expected between the Parliament and the Member States. But these will not start until the summer. We’ll continue to tell policy makers these rules should ensure fairer competition with conventional sources of energy. And that we need to move towards an electricity system that is more flexible and more interdependent. See our video explainer for more.
Separately:
- you will have seen that WindEurope member Vattenfall won the recent zero-subsidy tender to develop the Hollandse Kust Zuid offshore wind farms in the Netherlands. These will be the world’s first offshore wind farms to be built without subsidy. It shows that zero-subsidy bids are possible for some developers in some markets not least where Governments take on and manage a share of the project risk and financing costs are low. In this instance the Dutch Government taking care of the grid connection is a significant factor. WindEurope continues to plug the importance of revenue stabilisation mechanisms for the industry as we navigate these unchartered waters;
- WindEurope published a new infographic on the integration of wind energy in the energy system. It shows that integrating increasing shares of renewables into electricity grids is getting easier and cheaper. It explains in simple presentable terms how smart grids, demand response, storage and more flexible wind turbines and storage are all helping to achieve do this; and
- on the events side, our Summer Reception is taking place after our Annual General Assembly on 21 June in Brussels. You can register for it here. We’ve also had confirmation that European Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy Miguel Arias Cañete and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol will join us at the Global Wind Summit in Hamburg this September. Preparations for the event are in full swing and registrations will open soon.
Members’ successes
GFG Style and Envision unveil concept car at Geneva Motor Show
On 6 March, at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, GFG Style and Envision unveiled a new concept electric vehicle that brings together beautiful design with beautiful energy, to signpost the future of mobility.
The GFG Sibylla is a smart electric sedan developed in collaboration with Envision, a leading digital energy company. The vehicle uses Envision’s EnOS™ energy IoT platform, which allows the car to become intelligently integrated into the wider energy ecosystem.
“The integration of EV charging into the electricity grid is one of the biggest challenges for the automotive industry today,” said Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO of Envision. “Sustainable mobility can only become a reality once sufficient clean energy is integrated into the energy system to charge millions of EVs, and for that to happen the world’s transport and energy systems need to merge into one ecosystem. We joined forces with GFG Style to address this challenge.”
An electric car with a 75 KWh battery can store as much electricity as an average European household consumes in a week. Integrating the car into the energy system means the car can both be an energy source and help contribute to stabilising the energy grid, a critical link between energy supply and demand.
With EnOS™, the car not only connects to a network of renewable energy assets, but also communicates and shares energy with other vehicles, homes and buildings, enabling clean, secure and affordable electricity in a flexible and smart future energy system.
New method to discover how cracks and failure evolve in composite material used for wind turbine blades
DTU Wind Energy, in a collaboration with LM Wind Power, has found a new method to observe how fatigue damages evolve in the composite materials used inside wind turbine blades.
In project CINEMA, researchers explore the possibilities to extend the lifetime of wind turbine blades by the use of 3D x-ray computer tomography. This is a ground-breaking way to look at the development of damages: only a few years ago, similar analyses were based on destructive analyses, where you had to slice the material in order to look inside it using. This meant researchers only got a snapshot in two dimensions and did not have the possibility to look at damage evolutions.
Lars Pilgaard Mikkelsen, lecturer at DTU Wind Energy, says “This is the first time it has been possible to use 3D x-ray computer tomography scans to look at the development of fatigue damage at a micro scale in the glass fibre materials used as the load carrying laminates inside wind turbine blades.”
According to Jens Zangenberg Hansen, Senior Engineer at LM Wind Power, the tomography opens up new and improved possibilities: “The new technique makes it possible for us to identify how and where the damages begin, and how they develop, when the composites are being exposed to an increasing number of load cycles throughout its lifetime.”
Knowledge derived from such studies will have an impact on both blade design and cost reductions, says Mikkelsen: “The more knowledge researchers gain about damages in wind turbine blades, the better they will be able to develop more competitive materials and improved wind turbine blade designs.”
Ingeteam wins control centre contract with leading Mexican renewable energy company Zuma Energía
Ingeteam, an independent global supplier of electrical conversion and turbine control equipment, has been awarded a substantial contract by leading Mexican renewable energy developer Zuma Energía to provide a state-of-the-art control centre for its operational wind farm in Oaxaca, PE Ingenio.
The platform will collect all the relevant information on the infrastructure of the wind farms in real time, enabling the operator to effectively manage and optimize the operation and maintenance of its wind turbines.
“We are very pleased to support Zuma Energía in their goal to contribute to the sustainable transformation of Mexico’s electricity system” explained Jorge Acedo, R&D Director of Control Systems, Ingeteam Wind Energy. “The project consolidates Ingeteam’s position as a leader in the monitoring and analysis of wind farms in Mexico.”
Over 1 GW of installed wind power in Mexico is currently being managed through the Ingeteam control centre platform. With its maintenance equipment covering almost half of the country’s total installed wind power capacity, Ingeteam has positioned itself as an undisputed leader in O&M services in this market. The Spanish company has more than 400 technicians servicing customers throughout the country.
EU Projects
Research and Innovation policy breakfast – IRPWind
On 26 April, WindEurope will host a policy roundtable on the wind industry’s strategic Research & Innovation priorities to 2030 and the importance of aligning EU and national policies to deliver on these objectives.
In the current resource constrained environment, meeting the challenges raised by policy alignment will be key to leveraging the Europe’s academic excellence and sustaining industrial leadership.
The event is part of the IRPWind project led by the Technical University of Denmark with 24 research institutions and universities.
It will be an opportunity to present to the sector’s key priorities to policymakers and stakeholders in view of Framework Programme 9, the EU’s main Research and Innovation funding instrument. The European Commission is expected to present its legislative proposals for research and Innovation funding end April.
Speakers will include:
- Peter Hauge Madsen, DTU Wind Energy, Head of Department
- Peter Eecen, ECN, Programme Development Manager Wind Energy
- Aidan Cronin, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Advisory Specialist in Technology and Innovation Department
The event will take place on 26 April from 08:30 to 09:45 at the Thon Hotel, Rue de la Loi 75, 1040 Brussels.
Events
Global Wind Summit: 35,000 participants from over 50 countries will be there. Will you?
When: 25 – 28 September
Where: Hamburg
90% of stands have already been sold for the world’s largest wind energy event
Over four days this September, more than 1,400 exhibitors from 34 countries will gather for WindEnergy Hamburg, the world’s leading wind energy expo. The expo will run in parallel with the WindEurope Conference, making the Global Wind Summit the world’s largest and most important wind energy event.
This is an unmissable opportunity to network, do business and maximise your visibility before a truly global audience.
Only a few exhibition spaces remain for the expo – so book your stand to avoid disappointment!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Registration now open: Analysis of Operating Wind Farms – Technology Workshop
When: 15 – 16 May
Where: Vilnius
The 2018 edition of Analysis of Operating Wind Farms Technology Workshop will focus on big data and innovative approaches to boost performance and optimise O&M strategies.
See here for a detailed list of the topics we will address.
Interested in exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities?
See here for more information
50% of exhibition space already sold for the WindEurope Conference & Exhibition 2019
When: 2 – 4 April 2019
Where: Bilbao
Time is running out if you want to book your stand for 2019’s premier on- and offshore wind energy event!
Spain has made a roaring return to the wind energy market: investors and innovators are unlocking the vast potential of Spanish wind power. This is why over 8,000 industry insiders and more than 400 exhibitors will gather in the buzzing cosmopolitan hub of Bilbao for the WindEurope Conference & Exhibition 2019.
Maximise your visibility in one of Europe’s booming industrial and cultural centres.
Stands are selling fast – so book today to avoid disappointment.
