THERE IS NO STATUS qUO IN THE WIND INDUSTRy 7 Cost reductions and alliances are keywords in the Danish wind industry Companies in the Danish wind industry are at the very forefront of the global wind expansion, driving the continuous development of evermore effective and cost-efficient wind turbines Jan Hylleberg, CEO, Danish Wind Industry Association THERE IS NO STATUS QUO IN THE WIND INDUSTRY What few people believed 40 years ago is now a reality with a booming global industry. Over the years, the wind industry has fine-tuned its ability to harvest energy from the wind in a controlled manner that benefits millions and millions of people. The groundwork for much of the technological development has taken place in Denmark. Today, nearly 500 companies work within the Danish wind energy sector, generating more than 28,000 jobs including the whole supply chain (2014) and combined revenue of DKK 84.4 bn (EUR 11.31 bn) of which more than 60% is exported. The Danish wind industry accounts for 5.2% of the total Danish export in 2014; this is the highest level since 2008-2009. More energy for less money Even though the Danish wind industry has developed into a highly professional and well-established one, the objective has remained the same since the beginning. At the core, all work evolves around reducing the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) - the price of the electricity production over the lifetime of a wind turbine. The wind industry has come far and the technology holds huge potential for becoming even cheaper. While the price of wind energy continues to decline, investments are going up. Proof of this is found in Europe, where wind energy was the favoured energy technology in 2014, with a grid connected wind energy supply more than double that of coal and gas combined. Danish companies are driving the development of a lower LCOE. Strong cross-industry cooperation along with unique testing facilities are creating the foundation for an innovation hub found nowhere else in the global wind industry. Today, energy from onshore wind turbines is cheaper than energy from new fossil energy plants in many markets, including Denmark, and across the industry efforts are put into reducing the cost of offshore wind in a similar manner. Producing energy offshore requires a new way of thinking and this has led to a new way of organising the industry in Denmark. Alliances are vital Abandoning the idea of wind turbine manufacturers dealing with all of their sub-suppliers, the industry is now moving towards organising in clusters offering concentrated and packaged solutions. This entails an even closer collaboration between Danish wind turbine manufacturers and clustered sub-suppliers, enhancing manoeuvrability and the ability to innovate. This development is evidence of the continuous professionalisation of the Danish wind industry that acts as a strong competitive advantage - only to be developed further in the coming years. With wind energy having one of the greatest potentials for integrating more renewable energy across the world, it is unthinkable for the Danish wind industry just to maintain the status quo. The wind industry is facing before yet another era of progress that will benefit not only job creation and energy security, but also people and climate.
Share
Print
Download PDF file
Archive
Facebook
Linkedin
Twitter