Every year more wind power is being produced and consumed worldwide. Germany, however, has reached a point of near saturation. Offshore windparks could be the next big thing.
 | Cranes lift up the rotor of a giant wind generator in Brunsbuettel, Germany. While this prototype is installed on land, the model has been designed for use in offshore windparks (Photo: Reuters) |
There is little wonder why so many companies and states are interested in wind power. After over a decade of investment and steady technological improvement, wind turbines have the potential to produce clean and low-cost energy -- and from a very abundant source.
Leading the global wind energy march is Germany. No country has done more to nurture wind technology and turn it wind into a competitive source of energy. The benefits are now becoming apparent. The German environment ministry has reported that in 2005 over 17 thousand wind turbines generated over 18 thousand MW of electricity for the nation's energy grid - far and away the biggest contribution of any renewable source.
 | Picture Gallery (click the image to start)Energy from Wind, Water, Sun, and Earth |
Public clamor during the 1970s and 1980s - particularly after the 1973 oil crisis and Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 - helped inspire the development of alternative energy sources, including the early generations of modern wind turbines in Germany.
Great expectations
It was not until the 1990s, however, that wind evolved from an idea "for visionaries and exotic thinkers" - as German Wind Energy Association (BWE) President Peter Ahmels recalls - into a mature industry. The windswept German landscape was ideal for wind turbines, but so too was the political climate of the 1990s - a decade that saw the Rio de Janeiro conference in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, and concluded with the German Renewable Energy Sources Act in 2000.
As part of its broader aims of encouraging renewable energies and cutting carbon emissions, the German government created incentives - such as tax breaks and payments for electricity added to the power grid - that boosted the infant wind sector, and helped it (along with other renewables) develop into a viable energy source.
Also crucial was the insurance sector, which offered investors insurance on wind turbines in the early, "uncertain" years of technological development.
"This security attracted investors and foreign lenders, whose large investments were decisive in making the German wind industry competitive and market-ready quickly," says Amelie von Both, expert at the Allianz Center for Technology.
Northern star
Germany is now seeing the fruits of government and investor support of wind energy. In the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, for example, wind currently generates over 30 percent of all electricity consumed locally. Meanwhile, the wind sector has helped the state dramatically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
"Schleswig-Holstein is definitely a success story," says Diana Profir, who manages the Green Power Market Development Group Europe, a cooperative project of the World Resources Institute and The Climate Group. "Federal and regional incentives have stimulated the renewable energy market and encouraged the growth of wind power."
The economic benefits of wind power in Schleswig-Holstein have been significant. Along with generating over 300 million euros of state revenue through its contributions to the national power grid, the wind sector has created around 5,000 local jobs over the last few years.
"The success of wind power in Schleswig-Holstein, and Germany as a whole, is being used as an example for states worldwide," says Profir.
Although Spain has eclipsed Germany in terms of sheer numbers of functioning wind turbines, Germany continues to be a leading exporter of wind turbine technology. German firms, such as Enercon, REpower, and Siemens Wind Power, are providing turbines, parts, and expertise for wind projects all over the world.
As the wind market grows in countries like China, India, and the United States, so does the demand for German wind technology and expertise. The BWE reports that German revenues from wind exports jumped 65 percent to 3 billion euros in 2005 from 1.8 billion euros the previous year.
The future: Offshore wind parks
Despite its successes and projected growth, Germany is approaching the limits of its land-based wind power production. Although some wind turbines will be replaced gradually by more-efficient and higher-performance models - an upgrading process known as "repowering" - experts believe that the future of German wind energy lies offshore.
Offshore wind turbines - which generate electricity from the typically stronger winds that blow over the seas - figure prominently in the ambitious long-term goals set forth by the German government and industry experts.
The German environment ministry projects that wind power could supply up to 20-25 percent of the power consumed in Germany in 2025, most of which would be generated by offshore turbines in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Meanwhile, insurance companies are in the process of developing insurance products for offshore wind projects.
"It has tremendous potential," says von Both, alluding to the offshore wind parks being planned by German wind investors, which some experts believe could start producing energy as early as 2007. "This is why I am sure that that we will remain a leading country for wind energy in the future."
editor: Valdis Wish
publishing date: June 8, 2006
Do you have something interesting to add? Write a comment and discuss this topic with other readers. Comments should be on-topic, non-commercial, and not contain abuse of any kind.
Comment Policy
