World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

May 2, 2004 – Vol.9 No.6

WORLD WIND WATCH.

The European Wind Energy Association, with the support of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Transport and Energy (DG TREN) has published a 330-page overview of the wind energy industry in the European Union. The extensive and detailed report - Wind Energy The Facts: An Analysis of Wind Energy in the EU 25 - includes a recent history of the industry, current and expected advances in technology, employment, costs associated with wind energy and expected growth of wind capacity in the expanding union.

By 2010, says the report, with positive policy support the EWEA expects total capacity to exceed 75,000 megawatts, 10,000 of which would be offshore. This figure is supported by the European Commission that thinks 69,900 megawatts to be installed by then. The European Commission also thinks by 2020 180,000 megawatts will be installed, 70,000 of which will be offshore.

The growth of wind capacity would include the deployment of turbines of greater output such as 5-megawatt machines. Some of those presumably would replace lesser capacity turbines already installed.

The complete five-volume report can be purchased by contacting Hugo Chandler at hugo.chandler@ewea.org/ . For most the Executive Summary and the Press Release will provide useful information. Visit the EWEA at http://www.ewea.org/ .

As one of the 10 new members of the European Union (EU), Estonia must begin to build renewable energy capacity. One of the first projects to get underway will be a 18.4 megawatt wind farm on the north coast of the Baltic state. The project, known as Pakri Tuulepark, will be developed by Norwegian energy company Vardar AS and have 8, 2.3-megawatt turbines supplied by Nordex.

Estonia, by EU rules, must have

5.1 percent of its electricity generated from renewable sources by 2010. That figure now stands at about one-half of one percent of total. According to the Estonian Wind Power Association (EWPA) 150 megawatts of wind energy would supply about 4 percent of the nation’s electricity.

Pakri is the first large wind project for Estonia that now has only 3 megawatts of wind capacity currently on line.

Visit Vardar AS at http://www.vardar.no/ (Norwegian only) , Nordex at http://www.nordex-online.com/ , the EWPA at http://www.tuuleenergia.ee/ .

The parish of St. Lucy on the island of Barbados may soon be home to a 10.2 megawatt wind farm. A study by Renewable Energy Systems of the U.K. for Barbados Light and Power (BL&P) determined that a wind farm would be feasible provided land was available a reasonable cost.

A farm, if built, would have 12, 850-kilowatt turbines that could supply the Caribbean island with 32 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year - about 3 percent of the current demand on the island. Visit BL&P at http://www.blpc.com.bb/ , Renewable Energy Systems at http://www.res-ltd.com/ .