Norbert Röttgen, German Federal Environment Minister, has thrown his backing behind developing more offshore wind farms in Germany. Röttgen announced today that offshore companies can rely on debt guarantees from the governemnt to secure the financing of “10 mega projects” in the North and Baltic seas up until the end of 2011.

The announcement signals a stronger than previously thought support for wind energy from Röttgen, German newspaper the Spiegel said.

Under the plans, 10,000 MW of offshore wind farm capacity will be built within the next 10 years, and 25,000 MW in the next 20 years.
“I believe that we can reach nearly 100% renewable energy by 2050, and wind power will provide about 50% of this,” Röttgen said in an interview with the Hamburger Abendblatt. continue reading »

While the proposed US climate change bill designed to cap carbon emissions has now floundered before reluctant politicians in the Senate, Energy Secretary Steven Chu has announced that the nation is helping launch 11 international clean energy initiatives, including one dealing with wind power.

At the world’s first Clean Energy Ministerial, attended by 24 countries representing more than 80% of global energy consumption and a similar percentage of the global market for clean energy technologies, policy makers were told last week in Washington that the initiatives would eliminate the need to build more than 500 mid-sized fossil fuel power plants world-wide in the next 20 years. continue reading »

The European wind power industry should take quick notice of two different yet related pieces of information traveling around cyberspace in the past week as both deal with China’s stunningly rapid growth.

A Bloomberg article noted an Oxford University study indicates European companies could benefit from collaboration with Chinese manufacturers seeking to improve wind park efficiency as the nation continues its meteoric expansion of the emissions-free sector.

“Wind park siting, or picking the best site for the turbine to gain the most wind energy, and grid development are among opportunities for collaboration between European and Chinese companies, Benito Mueller, director of Oxford University’s Institute for Energy Studies, and colleagues wrote in a study,” the Bloomberg article noted. continue reading »

The European Commission’s move to rein in coal subsidies by suggesting that unprofitable mines be shut down within the next four years has received wide coverage this morning. The move, announced yesterday and set for formal approval in December this year, would see the closure of hard coal mines located mainly in Germany’s Ruhr region, north-west Spain and Romania’s Jiu Valley.

The announcement is a signal that the European Commission firmly believes that renewable energies, including wind power, are the path to a carbon-neutral future:

“Renewable, clean energy is the way to go,” said European Commissioner for competition Joaquín Almunia, reported by EurActiv.

Leading environment group WWF said the Commission has finally “stood up to complacent attitudes and acted in the broader European interest”. In total, subsidies to the sector hit €3.2 billion in 2008, down from €6.4 billion in 2003, the Financial Times noted in its article.

The Ecocentric blog described coal subsidies as the “dirty secret of fossil fuels.” Coal receives tax payer support “even in environmentally friendly Europe.”

But the Commission’s proposal could hit opposition from some countries in Europe that are heavily reliant on hard coal. According to the New York Times Green Blog about a month ago, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania want to keep coal subsidies while the industry also employs around 100,000 people across Europe.

Meanwhile, EWEA foresees the creation of around 250,000 new jobs in the European wind industry by 2020.

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Wind power got another strong vote of confidence last week when the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Renewable Energy Policy Network (REN21) jointly issued reports saying supplies of new green electricity capacity should overtake fossil fuels later this year or in 2011.

The reports noted that in 2009, for the second year in a row, both Europe and the US added more power capacity from renewable sources such as wind and solar than conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear. According to a press release, renewables accounted for 60% of newly installed capacity in Europe and more than 50% in the US.

“Globally, nearly 80 GW of renewable power capacity was added in 2009, including 31 GW of hydro and 48 GW of non-hydro capacity. This combined renewables figure is now closing in on the 83GW of fossil-fuel, thermal capacity installed in the same year,” the press release said.
“If the trend continues, then 2010 or 2011 could be the first year that new capacity added in low carbon power exceeds that in fossil-fuel stations.”

The press release said wind was even more dominant as a destination for investment in 2009 than 2008.

“In 2008, it accounted for $59 billion or 45 [%] of all financial investment in sustainable energy; in 2009, it accounted for $67 billion and its share rose to 56 [%].”

Wind power additions reached a record high of 38 GW last year, the release noted, adding the emissions-free generating technology now exists in more than 82 nations.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said 2009 was a year of resilience, frustration and determination for sustainable energy investment.
“Resilience to the financial downturn that was hitting all sectors of the global economy and frustration that, while the UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen was not the big breakdown that might have occurred, neither was it the big breakthrough so many had hoped for,” the release quoted Steiner saying. “Yet there was determination on the part of many industry actors and governments, especially in rapidly developing economies, to transform the financial and economic crisis into an opportunity for greener growth.”

Mohamed El-Ashry, Chair of REN21, was quoted saying favorable policies in more than 100 nations played a critical role in the recent strength of global renewable energy investments recently. “For the upward trend of renewable energy growth to continue, policy efforts now need to be taken to the next level and encourage a massive scale up of renewable technologies.” El-Ashry said.

Do you think we’re about to reach a global green energy tipping point, where wind and other renewables will soon supply more new electricity than fossil fuels? Join in the discussion by commenting below.