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| Barriers must be removed for full exploitation of offshore wind  To support the necessary growth and expansion of offshore wind in order to meet the EU's 20% renewables target, several barriers need to be overcome. Low feed-in tariffs for offshore, limited and costly grid connections and complex authorisation procedures are seen as key obstacles by the offshore industry, delegates of the European Offshore Wind Energy Conference in Berlin heard. Five countries have operating offshore wind farms so far: Denmark, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands and Ireland. Other countries, such as Germany and France, are developing new offshore capacity. Speakers from Germany, the UK, Spain, the European Commission and industry explained how certain barriers are slowing down the development of offshore and presented recent and necessary changes to policy framework.In Germany, there are no current operational offshore wind farms. However, 22 projects have been approved in the Baltic and North Seas. The first project to be up and running should be the Alpha Ventus site, near the island of Borkum. This is currently a testing site for 12x5 MW turbines. It should be connected to the power grid from 2008. Offshore wind in the UK is growing and could be supplying 17% of the country's electricity by 2020, according to the British Wind Energy Association. The rapid development is partly the result of an increase in government funding through Renewable Obligation Certificates which will take effect in 2009. Spain is one of the global leaders in onshore wind. Although it does not yet have any operating offshore wind farms, a programme has been launched in order to identify suitable development zones and establish a licensing procedure. Several projects have been suggested for the area of Cape Trafalgar, off the south coast. Wolfgang Kerner, from the European Commission's DG TREN, explained how the Priority Interconnection Plan of the January 2007 energy package seeks to create a European electricity market and grid in order to facilitate cross-border exchanges. Thirty-two electricity lines have been selected around Europe and should be upgraded to help enable this. EWEA has been insisting on the need to upgrade interconnectors in order to promote cross-border exchange of power and to ensure security of electricity supply for a significant amount of time. More information on different national approaches can be found in EWEA's policy recommendations document entitled "Delivering offshore wind energy in Europe". write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |