Outlook
- Possible scenarios for the development of total capacity installed worldwide
After the slump on the international wind market, a gradual increase is expected for the coming years. In 2020, 12 % of the world’s electricity supply needs will be met by wind energy. The world wind energy industry association, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), has forecast that more than 34 % of the world’s power requirements may be generated using climate-friendly wind energy in 2050.
The rate of international growth will depend on overall energy policy conditions, among other things. In years to come, countless new turbines will be built in countries offering a positive regulatory environment for expanding renewable energies. Current growth markets in Europe include Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, France and Italy. Outside of Europe, expanding markets will be located primarily in Asia. However, the Chinese government is aiming to restrict growth, to avoid a disproportionate inflation of the market. Central and Eastern European countries, other Asian nations, Latin America, (North) African countries and the Near and Middle East will also be major future markets. A rise in repowering is also a potent growth factor.
KGW Schweriner Maschinenbau GmbH
Manufacturing of a tower segment.
The increasing transnational trade in electricity across Europe, the shift of the energy generation focus away from conventional power plants, and the expansion of renewable energies, in particular of wind energy, has made it necessary to modify the power grid infrastructure, with a focus on optimising the existing network and making it more flexible. Measures to expand the power grid and improve its utilisation, through temperature monitoring, for example, are currently in preparation in Germany. The use of new storage technologies such as compressed air storage (among others), better load management in the private and industrial sectors, and the networking of decentralised power generation into so-called virtual power plants all offer considerable potential for the optimal integration of wind energy.
Virtual power plants can be used to connect regenerative energy generation systems, enabling all the turbines to be managed optimally, both economically and technically. However, it is imperative that the network be further expanded so as to completely integrate renewable energies and ensure security of supply. Another current topic of discussion is methanation. Methane can be synthesised using excess wind energy. It can then be fed into the gas grid and converted back to electricity on demand. This presents an alternative to pure expansion of the power grid.
Ongoing research into and development of wind power will concentrate in future on reducing its negative environmental impact (noise and light emission), among other things. To achieve these goals, a test project was started in Germany in February 2010 that aimed to reduce light emissions by using an innovative radar system in the turbine to automatically monitor air traffic and regulate illumination. Illumination is designed to reduce the risk of planes or helicopters colliding with turbines.
Illuminated markers are prescribed for wind turbines above a certain height in all countries. However, local residents and drivers can feel disturbed by them, especially in sparsely populated areas, where their blinking is often the only source of light at night, making them very conspicuous. The new kind of radar-controlled aircraft recognition turbines tested can ‘recognise’ a plane or a helicopter and switch on the legally required lighting for just a few minutes. This technology would make even wind farms comprising many turbines invisible at night.
