Wind Energy - Introduction

In recent years, wind energy has become one of the most economical renewable energy technology. Today, electricity generating wind turbines employ proven and tested technology, and provide a secure and sustainable energy supply. At good, windy sites,
wind energy can already successfully compete with conventional energy production.
Many countries have considerable wind resources, which are still untapped. A technology which offers remarkable advantages is not used to its full potential:

• Wind energy produces no greenhouse gases.
  
• Wind power plants can make a significant contribution to the regional electricity supply and to power supply diversification.
• A very short lead time for planning and construction is required as compared to conventional power projects.
• Wind energy projects are flexible with regard to an increasing energy demand - single turbines can easily be added to an existing park.
• Finally, wind energy projects can make use of local resources in terms of labour, capital and materials.

The technological development of recent years, bringing more efficient and more reliable wind turbines, is making wind power more cost-effective. In general, the specific energy costs per annual kWh decrease with the size of the turbine notwithstanding existing supply difficulties, many African countries expect to see electricity demand expand rapidly in coming decades. At the same time, finite natural resources are becoming depleted, and the environmental impact of energy use and energy conversion have been generally accepted as a threat to our natural habitat. Indeed these have become major issues for international policy.

Many developing countries and emerging economies have substantial unexploited wind energy potential. In many locations, generating electricity from wind energy offers a cost-effective alternative to thermal power stations. It has a lower impact on the environment and climate, reduces dependence on fossil fuel imports and increases security of supply.

For many years now, developing countries and emerging economies have been faced with the challenge of meeting additional energy needs for their social and economic development with obsolete energy supply structures. Overcoming supply bottlenecks through the use of fossil fuels in the form of coal, oil and gas increases dependency on volatile markets and eats into valuable foreign currency reserves. At the same time there is growing pressure on emerging newly industrialised countries in particular to make a contribution to combating climate change and limit their pollutant emissions.

In the scenario of alternatives, more and more developing countries and emerging economies are placing their faith in greater use of renewable energy and are formulating specific expansion targets for a ‘green energy mix’. Wind power, after having been tested
for years in industrialised countries and achieving market maturity, has a prominent role to play here. In many locations excellent wind conditions promise inexpensive power generation when compared with costly imported energy sources such as diesel.

Despite political will and considerable potential, however, market development in these countries was relatively slow to take off. There was a shortage of qualified personnel to establish the foundations for the exploitation of wind energy and to develop projects
on their own initiative. The absence of reliable data on wind potential combined with unattractive energy policy framework conditions deterred experienced international investors, who instead focused their attention on the expanding markets in Western countries.

It is only in recent years that appreciable development of the market potential in developing countries and emerging economies has taken place. The share of global wind generating capacity accounted for by Africa, Asia and Latin America reached about 20%
at the end of 2008, with an installed capacity of 26 GW. This is attributable above all to breathtaking growth in India and China: these two countries alone are responsible for 22 GW. This proves that economic use of wind energy in developing countries and emerging economies is possible, and also indicates that there is immense potential that is still unexploited.

Wind energy: an overview

The first commercial wind energy converters entered service back in the 1980s, although the wind energy boom as such did not begin until the mid 1990s, when the total installed wind generation capacity in the world was only 5,000 MW. Since then the installed capacity has increased at dou-ble-digit rates of annual growth. By the end of 2006 global installed capacity had reached 74,233 MW, and the wind industry estimates that this will rise to 145,000 MW by 2010. Almost without exception, the installed systems are used to generate electricity. The largest market at present is still Europe, where some 48,545 MW (65%) is installed; of this, 22,000 MW is located in Germany (figures from end of 2006). Germany is also a leader among the system manufacturers. Four Ger-man companies are counted among the world’s major manufacturers, and the German component industry supplies gearboxes, clutches and other assemblies to numerous producers in other countries.

Even if it remains a matter of dispute whether wind energy would still be competitive without pro-motional support, it is beyond doubt that the wind industry has made considerable progress. While in the early 1990s the cost of systems still averaged almost 1,300 EUR/kW, in the meantime spe-cific investment costs have fallen to around 900 EUR/kW. The advantages of mass production have been further boosted by considerable increases in the efficiency of turbines (greater hub height, larger rotor diameter etc.), which have improved the economics of wind energy. There are now turbines on the market with a rated output of up to 6 MW, for example. This trend further illus-trates that the growth market in the wind industry is mainly seen in electricity generation and grid feed-in.

Wind Energy for Development

Potentials

"The wind energy potential in many developing and emerging countries is substantial. In many locations, generating electricity from wind energy presents an economically viable alternative to the use of conventional fossil energy sources such as coal or diesel. In developing and emerging countries, wind turbines are an alternative to conventional power stations. In comparison to fossil-fuelled power stations, wind energy can now be cost-effective in many places, as well as being non-polluting and reducing dependence on imports of fossil fuels."

Advantages of wind can be:

WIND share electricity generation 2005.jpg

• Use of an indigenous resource without producing greenhouse gases or other pollution;
• Wind energy contributes to the power supply diversification,
• Wind energy projects can develop local resources in terms of labour, capital and materials,
• Wind projects reinforce the cooperation with different donors including Germany, enhacing local capacities and technological know-how,
• Wind projects attract new capital and can be included in the new approach of Independent Power Production (IPP).
  

Challenges

Despite the economic and ecological advantages, so far even good wind resources in developing and emerging countries have not been used to the desirable extent.

The essential reasons for this are based in the lack of knowledge in the developing and emerging countries. From the view of international wind energy companies, beside the difficulties of raising of capital and risk covering, the barriers for private investment are especially:

• lack of information on foreign markets
• lack of knowledge of the energy-sector framework conditions and support mechanisms
• insufficient wind energy legal framework (technical and economical conditions for feeding wind-generated electricity into power grids, permit procedure, ...)
• lack of qualified staff, especially in the field of service/maintenance

Wind Capacities

Expected future growth Global Wind Capacity:

External Links

• World Wind Energy Association [[6]]
• European Wind Energy Association [[7]]

Portal:Wind