In the winter in Europe, the debt crisis has raged. The governments of various countries have tightened monetary policy, and fiscal expenditures have been drastically reduced. Many countries’ subsidies for new energy have also dropped significantly. The wind power industry, which was originally regarded as the representative of advanced manufacturing in Europe, seems to be gloomy.

Surprisingly, however, the 2011 European Summit on Wind Energy in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, in December was an overwhelming phenomenon: a large number of European entrepreneurs and technical personnel came to the local conference.

“European wind power, especially offshore wind power, is still at the forefront of the world. Europe needs to consolidate this leadership position; the current economic situation cannot be prevented from this goal.” Just as Ian Marchant, CEO of Renewables, London Weekly reporter admitted frankly.

At this meeting, a reporter from the "Financial National Weekly" interviewed the European Renewable Energy Commission** and the European Wind Energy Association** Arthouros Zervos.

Continue to lead

“Financial National Weekly”: After several years of development, the Chinese new energy industry represented by wind power has overcapacity, capital shortages, technical backwardness and other issues surfaced, and some leading enterprises are even on the brink of collapse, making people full of new energy prospects. Uncertainty; what is Europe?

Atlos Wersworth: Europe's vast ocean is still the focus of Europe's most promising and mature industry – offshore wind power. Amsterdam, once a small fishing village, has developed rapidly and is now a suitable location for the European Wind Energy Association to hold an offshore conference.

EU wind energy companies are the world's leading players, with 99% of the global installed capacity at sea in European waters. From cable to port equipment, offshore wind power involves a variety of industries, including the manufacture of wind turbines and fan components, as well as foundations, ships, electronic infrastructure, and ports. Europe is accelerating.

To date, the offshore wind energy industry in Europe has maintained an annual growth rate of 25%. If we maintain this speed, we can overcome any major difficulties.

To this end, the EU needs to strengthen its planning and management mechanisms and establish a power generation network with confidence. This requires the EU to increase R&D expenditures to reduce the manufacturing costs of wind turbines and increase their efficiency and reliability. We also need more channels to reduce bottlenecks in supply chains such as submarine cables and specialized ships. We have the technological capabilities to meet the challenges. We need political support to establish binding targets within the right time frame.

The most exciting thing about the European wind energy industry is that it is developing and developing quite rapidly.

"Financial National Weekly": At present, what are the biggest challenges facing European wind energy development?

Atlos Wersworth: There are many problems in the development of wind power in Europe, including political, financial, and scientific and technological factors.

A focus of attention is the EU's recently drafted electricity infrastructure bill. In this context, the European Wind Energy Association, and 15 other support associations, issued a 62-page statement emphasizing the need for a unified power grid in Europe.

This statement warned that if investors want to make Europe's offshore wind potential achievable, it is very urgent for investors to obtain enough **. The key is to establish a sea power network in the north and the Baltic Sea, which will allow a large amount of clean electricity to be delivered to end consumers.

For the wind energy industry itself, there will be shortages of high-voltage submarine cables and skilled workers in the coming years, and these problems need to be resolved urgently.

“Financial National Weekly”: I’ve seen that more than 10 Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, including Sinovel, have also appeared in the exhibition hall of this congress to receive inspections of advanced technologies from around the world. In your opinion, what are the investment opportunities in the European wind energy market?

Atlos Wersworth: European wind power market has great potential, and it is also an exciting opportunity for investors. Up to 142 GW of offshore wind power has been planned to be established on the vast Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. This installed capacity is 50 times the current installed capacity.

By 2030, it is estimated that the European offshore wind power will have a total installed capacity of 150 GW, and the offshore wind power generation capacity will meet 14% of the EU's total demand for electricity. It is expected that by 2020, the EU offshore wind power sector is expected to create 169,000 jobs, and by 2030 it will create 300,000 jobs.

The 142GW installation plan has already been approved by EU countries. This shows that in 2030, achieving 150 GW of offshore wind power in Europe is a realistic and achievable goal.

"Financial National Weekly": In 2006, the Netherlands built its first offshore wind farm. However, after the country's right-wing cabinet has assumed office, it is anxious to cut subsidies for renewable energy. At present, renewable energy in the country can only meet 4% of the total energy consumption. What is the new policy to achieve the 14% target in 2020?

Atlos Wersworth: The Dutch government has announced that it will evaluate its renewable energy policy in 2014. This assessment will show whether the Netherlands has achieved that goal and the effect that the Netherlands has achieved. The Netherlands is using what is currently available to do what it can do, depending on the cost of renewable energy.

The newly announced goal of the Dutch government and the Dutch Wind Energy Association is to reduce the offshore wind power generation price by 40% by 2020. This will help push the Dutch offshore wind industry forward. When the Dutch government proposed to reassess its energy policy in 2014, they realized that the development of offshore wind power has been able to help them meet their renewable energy goals.

Bystander

“Financial National Weekly”: In 2010, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power in mainland China exceeded 44 GW, ranking first in the world; by 2020, 2030, and 2050, China’s installed wind power capacity is expected to reach 200 GW, 400 GW, and 1000 GW, respectively. What kind of opportunities does this kind of global fan market offer to wind turbine manufacturers in the Netherlands and other European countries? What are your views or expectations on the Chinese market?

Atlos Wersworth: The Chinese market has continued to grow substantially in the past few years, and future trends will continue to grow. Not only Europe, but also equipment providers, consultants, and developers in the United States, India, and South America can all benefit from the momentum of wind power in China.

The share of European companies in the foreign market has been higher than that of non-European manufacturers in Europe. This is because Europe has a first-mover advantage and a technological advantage. This gives European wind power companies a bigger global market and more opportunities to build factories overseas.

European wind turbine manufacturers account for 89% of the European market, 32% of the US market and 37% of the global market. Recently, some European wind energy manufacturers questioned the reliability of China's wind turbines; however, as China's wind energy market matures and its competitiveness increases, it will improve the entire Chinese wind energy industry.

“Financial National Weekly”: In the first half of 2011, a number of off-grid fan accidents occurred in several onshore wind farms in China, resulting in significant fluctuations in the grid system. Excuse me, how do you solve the intermittent and low-voltage ride-through problems of wind power? What is Europe's experience?

Arturos Zervos: The experience of European countries such as Denmark and Spain shows that it is entirely possible to integrate huge amounts of wind power (up to or exceeding 100%) into an integrated power grid system.

In fact, in a wide, well-connected power network, there is always a huge capacity wind power system because the wind always blows to a certain place. The EU is currently debating a bill aimed at accelerating and promoting new grid connections. The European wind power industry has called for and believes that this is a step in the integration of offshore wind farms in northern Europe and the integration of wind farms across Europe.

“Financial National Weekly”: In China’s bidding for offshore wind power concessions, offshore wind power reported a slightly higher price than onshore wind power. Many professionals believe that this is simply not enough to make up for the cost. As a pioneer in offshore wind power, how do you view this matter?

Atlos Wersworth: In Europe, the cost price of onshore wind farms is competitive with the cost of new natural gas and coal plants; however, offshore wind power technology is newer and costs more.

Offshore wind power cost prices are now declining, but in the future further declines will occur, and the European wind energy industry needs more research and development. The funds are mainly dependent on public sector expenditures.

"Financial National Weekly": China's fan manufacturing industry, there has been a "big fan phenomenon", 5MW, 6MW or even 10MW fans are constantly off the assembly line and research and development. Is this phenomenon good or bad? What are the hidden concerns?

Atoros Zelworth: The bigger the fan, the more energy it generates. Since the birth of the industry, wind turbines have become larger and larger. Land-based wind turbines are still subject to restrictions such as transportation when used, but offshore wind turbines are built near the port and transported by specialized vessels to the correct location. How large the size of the offshore wind turbines can be, and there are fewer constraints.

In 2010, the EU-funded UpWind project showed that 10MW wind turbines are feasible. However, this requires a series of adaptations and adjustments. What we cannot predict is what size wind turbines we can develop in the future, or when we can reach this scale. This can be well developed through subsidized shipping. The development of large wind turbines through the sea is a feasible way.

Global wind power has not arrived yet

Wen/Li Hang

After several years of “Great Leap Forward” development, the overcapacity of China’s wind power generators has become severe. This has led to a series of problems such as a drop in the price of wind turbines and a large pressure on gross margins. Some wind power companies even went bankrupt. China's wind power companies suffered a "cold winter." Many people questioned the prospects for the development of wind power.

However, there is still huge space for the development of wind power, especially offshore wind power.

Analysts believe that after the nuclear power crisis in Japan, China’s nuclear power policy is tight. The planning objectives of hydropower have been fully tapped, and the possibility of making up for the shortage of nuclear power is very small. Wind power and photovoltaic are the clean energy that are most likely to make up for the vacancy of nuclear power.

Looking at the external market, we can see that the world’s wind power is still firmly moving forward despite the raging financial crisis. For example, Europe is the earliest wind power development in the world, and is also the most successful regional leader - EU wind power companies. In the case of the government's fiscal contraction and related subsidies, it still insists on the development of wind power.

According to the EU's 2020 Energy Action Plan, wind power accounts for 14% of the EU's total electricity consumption. Analysts believe that in the next 10 years, the development of wind power in Europe will still receive policy protection.

At the same time, more and more European countries have successively introduced policies to encourage the development of wind power. The core is to purchase wind power at a relatively high fixed price for a long period of time, encourage relevant investments, and cultivate stable markets.

In order to expand power generation, some European countries continue to develop new wind power areas. Offshore power generation will also play an increasingly important role in the development of wind power in Europe.

According to the EU and European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), it is expected that up to 40 GW of offshore wind power can be set by 2020; according to the forecast of Danish BTM Consulting, the cumulative installed capacity of global offshore wind farms will reach 18.49 million KW to 24.25 million by 2015 Between KW.

As the German Wind Energy Federation Ralph Bisev believes that if the wind park can be built in the shallow waters of the German coast, it will greatly increase the wind power capacity in Germany.

However, while the wind power development in the European Union continues to lead the country, it also faces many problems. Analysts said that unless the original grid monopoly in Europe is broken, it will be difficult for Europe to make full use of its huge clean energy investment to get a return. European calls for a unified power grid are also growing.