The Chinese economy is growing at a phenomenal rate. In Beijing, from the shiny, high-rise office buildings to slick underground trains, China’s economic expansion is clear. And the Chinese wind power sector has surged too, with over 62 GW now installed, making it the world’s number one.
But growth rates stabilised a while ago, and cracks began to appear. In 2010-11 the shine on Chinese wind power started to tarnish as it emerged that accidents were happening, grid connection rates were poor and quantity had clearly been given the upper hand over quality.
continue reading »
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark at EWEA 2012
The EWEA Annual Event 2012 in Copenhagen has now drawn to a close. But what were the main messages of the Chairs of the six themed “tracks” – from policy to financing – to the wind energy industry and politicians?
Uncertainty is very high in the market, in particular for the post-2020 years, Jan Serup Hylleberg, Chair of the policies and markets track, said at the final panel session on Thursday. “Long term stability and effective mechanisms are needed from the political side to grow the industry,” he said. continue reading »
Sophie Westlake tells the EWEA blog about a new website that aims to collect as many facts as possible on the benefits of Europe’s climate and energy policies…
Sceptics argue that climate change and sustainable energy policies will damage Europe’s economy, but do you believe delayed action in deploying renewable energy technologies could actually be cheaper in the long-run? Do you really think that climate action is a genuine threat to European jobs?
Well the short answer for me is “not really”… But then you probably want a little more detail than that… continue reading »
A letter signed by 101 public figures in the UK – including Sir Richard Branson – has been sent to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to promote the benefits of renewable energy in the budget due to be announced this Wednesday, the Guardian reported.
The letter is widely seen as a rebuff to another letter signed by 101 Members of Parliament who called for an end to support for wind energy
The March budget is one of the “biggest opportunities to tackle climate change in the UK…we must ensure it encourages investment rather than create uncertainty and delay further serious investment in the renewable sectors. As a country, we need to be better prepared to deal with rising energy prices,” Branson said, reported in the Guardian.
continue reading »
Electricity from wind energy and other renewables is close to one-third cheaper than electricity from a new coal-fired plant, according to a US report published by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPRS) to the state legislature.
The report found that average costs over the life cycle of renewable energy systems equalled €69.5 per megawatt-hour (MWh) while the cost for a new coal fired power plant totalled €101 per MWh.
continue reading »
