WindEurope Bulletin
WindEurope Bulletin November 2017
6 November 2017
Giles Dickson
CEO Foreword
Dear WindEurope member,
It’s November and that means that our annual Conference & Exhibition in Amsterdam is almost upon us.
The reforms that will determine the shape of Europe’s energy market in the decade up to 2030 are currently under discussion in Brussels. As Europe heads towards agreement on its Clean Energy Package next year, the industry is convening in Amsterdam to share its vision for the future of wind.
The slogan this year is ‘Local impact, global leadership’. It reflects both the local economic benefits of wind energy and also the European wind industry’s leading role on the global stage. Amsterdam will also launch our flagship report "Local impact, global leadership". It takes an in-depth look at the impact our industry has on jobs and growth in Europe as well as its substantial export footprint.
We have a full programme in store for the Amsterdam event. There are more than 40 conference sessions covering market and technology developments in onshore and offshore wind, system integration, finance and government policy. There is the usual exhibition (10,000m²) showing the latest equipment and technology. And there will be a range of side events with key outside stakeholders covering eg aviation/radar, health and safety and data exchanges with meteorologists.
WindEurope’s newly-elected Chairman and CEO of RES Group, Ivor Catto, will open the event. Then we’ll have the Energy Ministers of Lithuania and Estonia. The former is steering through an ambitious new energy strategy with a sharp increase in renewables. The latter is leading the EU discussions on the Clean Energy Package as Estonia have the EU Presidency right now.
We’ll also hear from the CEOs of our Event Ambassadors – Enercon, Siemens Gamesa, Vattenfall and Vestas – who will give their take on industry trends and debate where the industry is headed.
The conference is then hosting the EU Commission’s North Seas Energy Forum. Energy Directors General from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and the Commission will swap notes with industry players such as TenneT, Shell and Vattenfall on progress made since the North Seas cooperation agreement signed by ten countries in June 2016.
There will be numerous networking opportunities and side events, including a gala dinner in the magnificent grounds of Amsterdam’s Maritime Museum.
Finally, we’ll be doing our first WindEurope "hackathon." Together with InnoEnergy, we’re organising ‘Hack the Wind’, a hackathon bringing together designers, developers, wind energy experts, data scientists and analysts. They will have the chance to work with Envision’s IoT platform and datasets to innovate and shape the future of wind energy. There’s a generous prize for the winners!
Be sure to join us in Amsterdam. I look forward to seeing you there. If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here.
Policy news
Wind industry to Member States: we want tougher Energy Union governance
WindEurope’s largest members send letter to EU Energy Ministers arguing for a clearer sense of how countries plan to meet their climate objectives over the next decade.
The energy transition is so complex that it requires careful planning by Member States, system operators, the renewable energy industry and many others. The Governance Regulation proposed by the European Commission in November 2016 is meant to ensure that every stakeholder in the energy transition knows what’s happening after 2020. It will lay out an overarching system for assessing, monitoring and reporting EU progress in meeting the 2030 energy and climate goals.
National Energy & Climate Plans, drafted by EU Member States and submitted to the European Commission, would have to give clarity over future ambitions on renewables build-out. Having such early visibility on the post-2020 project pipeline for wind energy would allow the industry to prepare the next investment cycle. It would also help shape new investments in the workforce, in manufacturing facilities, and in R&D.
But Member State discussions on this legislative piece are moving slowly and in the wrong direction. Draft texts negotiated by country representatives and seen by WindEurope show that governments are seeking more time to submit their National Energy & Climate Plans. They seek to water down several provisions that would provide clarity on how they aim to achieve the EU’s collective binding renewable energy target by 2030.
That’s why a group of WindEurope’s largest members sent a letter to EU Energy Ministers in October. In the letter we argue the wind energy industry needs to have a clear sense of how countries plan to meet their climate objectives over the next decade.
The letter argues the wind energy supply chain needs clarity on deployment volumes. Knowing how much capacity governments wish to install shapes our business and helps us to keep people in jobs. The letter also calls for coherent and detailed national plans. Together with wind energy deployment volumes, it is crucial for industrial planning that the plans clearly outline how countries will a) develop the necessary transmission and distribution infrastructure, b) address overcapacity in power assets and c) increase the flexibility of their energy systems to accommodate variable generation.
The letter also asks governments to provide investors with reliable renewable energy trajectories to ensure a healthy level of activity in our home market. And finally it calls for adequate oversight over delivery of the EU renewable energy target. As we’re moving from binding national targets to a target that is merely binding on European level, investors need more than purely an iterative dialogue to have legal certainty.
Member States are expected to intensify their discussions in the next six weeks as they aim to come to an agreement amongst themselves by the end of the year. In 2018 they will start negotiations with the European Parliament, which is discussing its position on this file in parallel.
News
RE-Source platform: the new European platform for corporate renewable energy sourcing
The potential for corporate sourcing of renewable energy in Europe is significant and largely untapped. To support its growth and bring a new stream of revenue into the European electricity market, it requires a consistent regulatory environment and awareness of this opportunity needs to be raised across a range of different stakeholders.
WindEurope – together with SolarPower Europe, RE100 and WBCSD – have therefore established the RE-Source Platform. It is the first and only multi-stakeholder platform in Europe bringing together the interests of both renewable energy buyers and sellers. The RE-Source platform will pool resources and coordinate activities to promote a better policy framework for renewable energy sourcing, at EU and national level.
Corporate renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) provide clean, reliable and competitive power for industry across all sectors, and increasingly in energy-intensive sectors. It is now a well-established model in many countries in Europe. Over the past four years, European industry has signed 1.5 GW of renewable PPA deals, 1.3 GW of them with wind energy. The new RE-Source platform will play a key role in spreading the model to all countries in Europe and to smaller companies so that more industrial consumers can benefit from it.
Members’ successes
Microsoft signs two large wind energy PPAs in less than 2 months
Corporate Renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are changing the market terrain for renewables – the volume of these PPAs almost tripled in Europe in 2016 compared to the year before, with over 1 GW of capacity contracted. In recent weeks, Microsoft have announced two major corporate renewable PPAs in Europe.
In early October, it was announced that Microsoft had signed a 15-year PPA with GE, enabling the software giant to procure 100 per cent of the wind energy from GE’s Tullahennel wind farm in Kerry, Ireland. This PPA builds on Microsoft’s strategic partnership with GE, announced last year, and will add 37 MW of clean energy to the Irish grid.
Less than four weeks later, in another significant PPA development, Microsoft announced that it will be buying 100 per cent of the energy generated by a Vattenfall-owned wind farm in the Netherlands. The Wieringermeer onshore wind farm, which Vattenfall’s local subsidiary Nuon plans to repower and expand to 180 MW by 2019 and 295 MW by 2020, will power an adjacent data centre which serves as Microsoft’s regional hub, delivering Microsoft Cloud services to customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Once completed,” says Christian Belady, general manager for Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure and Operations, “this wind project will bring Microsoft’s total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to almost 800 MW.”
To find out more about the benefits of corporate renewable PPAs, be sure to visit the RE-Source platform, Europe’s new platform for corporate renewable energy sourcing.
Sif-Smulders joint venture to engineer and manufacture all monopiles and transition pieces for the Triton Knoll Offshore Windfarm
Sif Netherlands B.V. and Smulders Projects Belgium N.V. have signed a Preferred Supplier and Early Works Agreements in a joint venture with Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm Ltd.
Located 32 km off the coast of Lincolnshire, the UK, Triton Knoll is an offshore wind farm developed by a joint venture of Innogy Renewables UK Ltd and Statkraft AS. The project will have an installed capacity of 860 MW and will use MHI Vestas’ V164-9.5 MW turbines with a maximum tip height of up to 187 m.
The Sif-Smulders joint agreement covers the design and fabrication of 90 monopiles and transition pieces, as well as 2 foundations for offshore substations at Triton Knoll. The estimated total weight of Sif’s part of the project is 56 Kton. The project plans to install 90 wind turbines, two offshore substations, one onshore substation, associated inter-array cables and export cables that are routed both offshore and onshore.
Isotrol to install the new Blue Tree AM control centre
Isotrol has signed a contract with Blue Tree Asset Management (BTAM) to install a new control centre that will manage 23 renewable plants located in Spain and Italy.
According to the agreement, Isotrol’s CER Operation Manager solution will form part of all BTAM assets, acting as the centralised management platform of electric power from 23 wind farms and photovoltaic plants controlled by the company in Italy and Spain.
The aim of this project is to maximize the efficiency of the entire portfolio using Isotrol’s CER Operation Manager, which is scalable and open to any technology and devices. BTAM currently manages more than 360 MW in Spain, Italy, Chile, Uruguay and Mexico.
The project, which will help analyse the plant’s performance and reduce management costs, is currently analysing and integrating the first assets into the control centre with a view to completing the process before 2018.
EU projects
The SKILLWIND project comes to an end
The SKILLWIND project officially came to an end on 31 October 2017. This Erasmus + funded project aimed at standardising EU wind energy workers’ skills in O&M and health and safety.
Its ultimate goal was to contribute to a highly qualified workforce in the sector to sustain the industry’s growth. This was done through the design of a training programme which integrates the Global Wind Organisation (GWO) modules for health and safety. The skills acquired through it can then be tested using an app for smart phones: the “Trivial” Serious Game. Inspired by the Trivial Pursuit serious game approach, this app displays sets of questions on 6 different subjects and 3 levels of difficulty.
Learn more about the project on the SKILLWIND website or in its newsletters!
Don’t miss your chance: new R&I funds available via the Horizon 2020 programme
On 27 October 2017 the European Commission published the 2018-2020 Work Programme for its biggest Research & Innovation (R&I) funding scheme: Horizon 2020. Over the coming 3 years, €3.3 billion will go to low-carbon projects and €1.7 billion to digitising and transforming European industry and services.
On Thursday, 19 October, WindEurope’s EU projects’ team held a webinar on EU funding supporting R&I in the wind energy sector. This gave WindEurope members a sneak-peak on upcoming wind energy related issues dealt with in the 2018-2020 Work.The Commission representative highlighted a number of technology-neutral calls favourable to or specifically addressing the wind energy sector. Up to €260 million has been allocated to next generation solutions, consumer scale and system level implementation systems. Another €30 million will support energy activities on big data solutions and €20 million will finance cybersecurity in the Electrical Power and Energy System (EPES). SMEs will receive ad hoc support via the SME Instrument and in the form of grants for feasibility assessment, innovation development & demonstration purposes.
The EU projects’ team would like to thank members who managed to attend the webinar! And to inform everyone that the recording is available under the EU-funded projects section of the WindEurope’s Members Area.
The Commission will repeat its presentation on 29 November at the upcoming WindEurope Conference & Exhibition 2017, in Amsterdam. Delegates will be able to clarify doubts and meet with possible project partners at the networking session that will follow the presentation.
WindEurope has also identified other funding opportunities for the wind energy sector. Up to €158 million have been allocated in support to virtual power plants, decarbonisation of islands’ energy systems, research on advanced tools and technological development, the Implementation Plans of the SET-Plan, energy system modelling towards a European low-carbon energy system, sectoral for a, the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) and first-of-a-kind RES projects.
At WindEurope, we want to understand if these topics match your areas of interest or if we need to explore other sections of the programme. Please take this 5-minute survey to let us know what we can do for you.
Events
WindEurope Conference and Exhibition 2017
When: 28 – 30 November 2017
Where: Amsterdam
Registration is openforthe most exciting on- and offshore event in the wind energy calendar.
Attend exciting conference sessions and share the exhibition floor with 8,000 wind industry players in Amsterdam, where you can enjoy a wide range of networking opportunities and side events
Invitation to register for the Members’ Reception at the WindEurope Conference & Exhibition 2017
When: 27 November 2017
Where: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Members’ Reception at WindEurope’s Conference & Exhibition will be held in the most iconic museum of Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum, on Monday 27 November 2017.
Exclusively available to WindEurope members, free of charge, this venue will host attendees for a networking reception adjoining the famous Gallery of Honour. Enjoy a guided visit and marvel at Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” and Vermeer’s “The Milk Maid” whilst meeting with business colleagues and leads on the eve of WindEurope’s Conference and Exhibition.
Access is exclusively upon invitation and only for the members of WindEurope. Attendance will be based on a first-come, first-served system, and restrictions may be imposed on the number of participants per company.
Innovations for LCOE reduction in offshore wind energy – technologies, models and strategies
When: 30 November 2017
Where: Amtrium 2 – ground floor at the WindEurope Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam
How can technological innovations, models and new industry strategies bring the cost of offshore wind energy further down? How can this be achieved via EU funding?
The LEANWIND, INNWIND.EU and AVATAR EU-funded projects will explain that by presenting their final achievements. Key topics include the innovative design features of wind turbines larger than 10 MW and the application of the lean principles across the offshore wind farm lifecycle and supply chain.
Wind Energy Matchmaking
When: 29 – 30 November 2017
Where: Amtrium 1 – Ground floor ground floor at the WindEurope Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam
Wind Energy Matchmaking offers professionals in the onshore and offshore wind energy business a unique opportunity to keep updated on the sector and its actors, and meet qualified contacts in a short amount of time.
Wind energy and aviation workshop
When: 30 November 2017
Where: G109 – 1st floor, conference area at the WindEurope Conference and Exhibition in Amsterdam
WindEurope and RenewableUK are jointly organising the second edition of the “Wind Energy and Aviation” workshop. The aim of the workshop is to share experience and good practices on the co-existence of aviation and wind farms.
Please find here the invitation letter to the event and agenda.
Should you have questions, please contact Mihaela Dragan, Environment and Planning Analyst at: [email protected] or T +32 2 213 18 04.
Save the Date: Grids meet Renewables – Conference and Best Practice Fair
Where: Brussels
When: 20 February 2018
Renewables Grid Initiative and WindEurope are organizing the event ‘Grids meet Renewables’ next February. This event will facilitate an open dialogue between the renewables and grid sectors and deep dive into the opportunities and challenges presented by the energy transition.
Call for Abstracts: Analysis of Operating Wind Farms – Technology Workshop
When: 15 – 16 May 2018
Where: Vilnius, Lithuania
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.
Submit your abstract by 10 December 2017 for inclusion in the programme.
Global Wind Summit 2018
When: 25 – 28 September 2018
Where: Hamburg
Over 35,000 people will attend the largest wind event in the world. Don’t miss the global on- and off-shore expo!
Early registration is recommended!
