5. The future of wind energy in Europe

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• Barriers for wind projects - Interview GreenWind (1280)

5. The future of wind energy in Europe

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How will the wind market evolve in the upcoming years? Benoît Henriet does not count on an everlasting pattern of growth. ‘The current political atmosphere is of course very favourable, he admits. ‘Presently, this has brought about huge investments in the sector. But the opportunities cannot last indefinitely. The continuous development of new wind farms is simply not feasible. The availability of viable new sites is already becoming scarce in Belgium, as well as in several other European countries.’

In some EU countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe and in countries with a large potential for off-shore wind parks, the development of new sites can be expected to continue for quite some time. ‘But even in these countries, further development can be very challenging,’ notes Benoît. ‘Stable regulatory conditions, favourable electricity prices, and the possibility for long-term electricity contracts are essential to creating an attractive investment climate.’

As the availability of new sites becomes scarce, further capacity can still be achieved by upgrading existing wind parks. This can be accomplished by installing more turbines on the same site or by replacing older turbines with newer more efficient models.

The development of small wind turbines, installed on apartment blocks, office buildings and at industrial sites is another opportunity. But Benoît does not give it much credit at present. ‘On those sites there is typically a high wind speed, but also a high level of turbulence,’ he explains. ‘Those conditions do not allow for optimal or even consistent wind turbine performance. Climatic conditions have to be really favourable and electricity demand quite high for this kind of projects to become profitable.’

‘The one area that holds the greatest potential for wind energy is a breakthrough in Storage Technology,’ concludes Benoît. ‘That would allow wind parks to sell its generated electrical power at peak tariff, receiving larger revenues from the same turbine capacity.’ Sites that are currently considered to be uneconomical could then become profitable. This alone could extend the current strong growth pattern of the wind market well into the future. But in any case, wind energy will probably always be too dependent upon unique site conditions for it to continue to maintain its current growth rate in the long term.