It was a tough year. The financial and debt crisis lurked in Europe and the US throughout 2011 and even fast-growing economies in Asia began to stutter. The international community still did not come up with a legally-binding agreement on limiting and then rapidly reducing toxic greenhouse gas emissions. Unemployment was high, social unrest leapt from country to country. And yet, despite all that despair and uncertainty, wind power remained a beacon of good, proving to weary politicians that the emissions-free technology can deliver on jobs, electricity supply, and the environment. The EWEA Blog covered developments;
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Sea-based wind turbines, enhanced grids and project financing shared centre stage at the EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 event in Amsterdam this week as it became clear the industry has the potential of becoming a driving economic force for many European coastal areas.
Hosted by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), the bi-annual conference was told more than 141 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity that is built, under construction, consented, or planned in Europe is enough to power 130 million average EU households and provide 13.1% of Europe’s total electricity production.
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A number of bankers, investors and developers taking part in a panel at the EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 conference in Amsterdam on Thursday agreed financing can still be arranged for expensive offshore wind farm projects despite the ongoing debt crisis.
Sean Klimczak, Managing Director in the Private Equity Group of Blackstone, said he is “relatively optimistic about the opportunities” to raise money for European offshore wind farms.
“We here at Blackstone remain committed to the offshore wind industry in Europe,” said Klimczak, whose firm raised €1.2 billion in financing for the 288-MW Meerwind project off Germany’s coast.
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Cross posted from the AWEA Blog: www.awea.org/blog
By Land or By Sea: It’s all about the Supply Chain
Posted: 2011-11-30 Lauren Glickman, Social Media/Online Advocacy Mgr
Day #2 at EWEA Offshore 2011 focuses on potential for job growth
Economic hard times are not unique to the United States; the financial crisis of 2008-2009 and resulting recession have taken their toll throughout the European Union. In these tough times, the offshore wind industry’s massive supply chain offers immense opportunity for job creation all across Europe.
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By the end of this year 4 GW of offshore wind power will be connected to Europe’s electricity grids – but the sector has some way to go if it is to meet its 40 GW target by 2020, just nine years away. Ports, vessels, turbines and cables – are all vital elements of the supply chain that must be boosted in the years to come.
‘The supply chain has to ramp up, but it’s very good at doing that,’ said Colin Morgan from Garrad Hassan, speaking at OFFSHORE 2011 on the launch of EWEA’s new offshore report. It will be developed in time to reach 2020 targets, but having a good supply of high voltage subsea cables is currently a potential obstacle to this, he added. ‘We are concerned that these are not being made’, he said highlighting the opportunities in the sector for new players.
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