Wind Energy and the European Union

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Wind Energy and the European Union

• Henryk P. Rogowski
• E-mail hrogowski_at_kentlaw.edu

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• Introduction
• Use of wind energy in Europe
• EU energy policy
• Conclusion

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What is wind energy?

• Wind is a product of the sun shining on the earth
  and the earths atmosphere, it is a resource that
  will not be depleted by tapping it for
  electricity generation.
• Wind energy is available for electricity
  generation in locations where the average wind
  speeds are great enough to drive the fields of
  wind turbines. While the ability of wind
  technology to produce electricity economically at
  lower wind speeds is improving, areas where
  average wind speeds exceed 20 km (12 miles) per
  hour are currently the most economic locations.

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How is the wind energy produced?

• Wind plants use large blades to catch the wind,
  turning rotors that produce electricity. Just as
  fossil-fueled plants use steam or combustion
  gases to turn electricity-producing rotors, wind
  plants use many wind turbines, often assembled on
  a large single wind site called a wind farm, to
  generate electricity. The modern wind farm may
  consist of as many as 100-500 wind turbines
  connected to the electric transmission grid.

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Unpredictability of wind

• Because wind follows patterns that can be
  predicted, and because particular locations have
  more reliable winds and will produce power more
  regularly, the value of wind for meeting consumer
  demand can be significant. Further, the
  intermittent nature of wind power does not
  produce significant problems for large electric
  systems as long as wind is a small proportion of
  the total system (less than 2-3 percent of total
  local system capacity).

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How can we use it?

• Large-scale wind generation - provides power to
  the local utility grid just as large-scale coal,
  hydro or natural gas electrical generation
  facilities send power to the grid do. A single
  large-scale wind turbine produces enough energy
  to power hundreds of homes. Clustered together in
  a wind farm, turbines can produce enough energy
  for thousands of distant homes and businesses.
• Small-scale wind generation - provides local,
  on-site power to a home or business. Turbines are
  placed at the same site where the electricity
  will be used. Any additional energy that is
  generated, exceeding the needs of the user, can
  be sent to the local electrical grid.

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Wind technologies

• Horizontal Axis Turbines (HAWT)
• Vertical Axis Turbines (VAWT)
• a) Darrieus Turbines
• b) Savonius Turbines
• Windmills

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Horizontal Axis Turbines (HAWT)

• Horizontal axis turbines are the most common
  turbine configuration used today. They consist of
  a tall tower atop which sits a fan-like rotor
  that faces into or away from the wind, the
  generator, the controller, and other components.
  Most horizontal axis turbines built today are
  two- or three-bladed, although some have fewer or
  more blades.

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Turbines can be build onshore or offshore
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Vertical Axis Turbines (VAWT)

• Darrieus TurbinesThe Darrieus turbine was
  invented in France in the 1920s. Often described
  as looking like an eggbeater, this vertical axis
  turbine has vertical blades that rotate into and
  out of the wind. Using aerodynamic lift, these
  turbines can capture more energy than drag
  devices. The Giromill and cycloturbine are
  variants on the Darrieus turbine.

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Vertical Axis Turbines (VAWT)

• Savonius TurbinesFirst invented in Finland, the
  Savonius turbine is S-shaped if viewed from
  above. This drag-type VAWT turns relatively
  slowly, but yields a high torque. It is useful
  for grinding grain or pumping water, but its slow
  rotational speeds are not good for generating
  electricity.

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Other Lift-Type Vertical Axis Configurations
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Windmills

• Windmills have been used by humans since at
  least 200 B.C. for grinding grain and pumping
  water. By the 1900s, windmills were used on farms
  and ranches in the United States to pump water
  and, later, to produce electricity. Windmills
  have more blades than modern wind turbines, and
  they rely on drag to rotate the blades.

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How does the turbine work?

• The wind blows on the blades and makes them turn.
  
• The blades turns a shaft inside the nacelle (the
  box at the top of the turbine)
• The shaft goes into a gearbox which increases the
  rotation speed enough for...
• The generator, which uses magnetic fields to
  convert the rotational energy into electrical
  energy. These are similar to those found in
  normal power stations.

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Required speed of wind

• Wind turbines start operating at wind speeds of
  4 to 5 meters per second (around 10 miles an
  hour) and reach maximum power output at around 15
  meters/second (around 33 miles per hour). At very
  high wind speeds, (25 meters/second, 50
  miles/hour) wind turbines shut down. Wind plants
  produce electricity only when the wind blows, so
  if the wind is not blowing, the plant is not
  producing electricity. For this reason, wind is
  called an intermittent resource.

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Connection to the grid

• The power output goes to a transformer, which
  converts the electricity coming out of the
  generator at around 700 Volts (V) to the right
  voltage for distribution system, typically 33,000
  V.
• The national grid transmits the power around the
  country.

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Advantages of wind energy

• No external energy dependence
•  No energy imports
•  No fuel costs
•  No fuel price risk
•  No exploration
•  No extraction
•  No refining
•  No pipelines
•  No resource constraints
•  No CO2 emissions
•  No radioactive waste

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Issues associated with wind farm development

• Use of large tracts of land
• Changes in visual quality
• Disturbances to wildlife habitats
• Avian mortality due to collisions with wind
  turbines and associated wires
• Noise
• Grass or brush fires caused by shorts in the
  electrical cables

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EU energy policy

• The In 1997 the European Commission White Paper
  on Renewable Sources of Energy set the goal of
  doubling the share of renewable energy in the EU
  from 6 to 12 by 2010. One of the targets of the
  Commissions White Paper was to increase the EU
  electricity production from renewable energy
  sources from 337 TWh in 1995 to 675 TWh in 2010.
  Within this target, the goal for wind power was
  for 40,000 MW (40 GW) of installed capacity in
  2010. This target was reached in 2005.

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Growth of wind power capacity in the European
Union
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EU energy policy

• The 2001 EU Directive on the promotion of
  electricity from renewable energy sources
  followed the goal described in the White Paper
  and set an overall Community target to increase
  the share of electricity from renewable sources
  from 14 in 1997 to 21 in 2010.
• In 2004 the Commission Baseline prepared scenario
  projection for wind and solar - 28 GW in 2005,
  73.2 GW in 2010, 91.7 GW in 2015, 104.1 GW in
  2020, 125.2 GW in 2025 and 149.2 GW in 2030.

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EU energy policy

• The parallel liberalization of the EUs
  electricity market will not create a level
  playing field overnight but the Directive ensures
  that short-term distortions do not undermine the
  possibility of developing those renewable energy
  technologies that will facilitate a future
  European energy supply that is cheap, clean and
  independent of fluctuating oil and gas prices.

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Contribution of wind power to new generation
capacity in the EU (GW)
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European wind resources

• There is enough wind energy resources to power
  all of Europe, whose current consumption is 2,900
  TWh.
• Offshore and onshore conditions allow building
  wind farms on the land and on the water.

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Wind resources above 50 meters (164 feet) above
the ground level
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Wind resources above the open sea more 10
kilometers (6 miles) offshore
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Production of wind energy in Europe

• Europe leads the world in developing wind energy
  as a pollution-free fuel for electricity
  generation. Over the past decade wind power has
  proved the most successful of all the new
  renewable sources.
• In 1994 there was 1,683 MW of wind energy
  installed across the EU. By the end of 2005 the
  figure had increased 24 times to 40,504 MW
• The average annual growth rate in cumulative
  installation over the past decade (1995-2005) was
  32.

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Production of wind energy in Europe more facts

• At the end of 2005, an estimated 47,000 wind
  turbines were installed in Europe, generating 83
  TWh of electricity, equal to about 2.8 of
  European electricity demand.
• The average size of turbines delivered to the
  European market in 2004 was about 1.3 MW onshore
  and 2.1 MW offshore.

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EU leaders in wind energy production
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EU energy market realties

• One of the basic concepts in the European Union
  is the common market which also includes the
  energy sector.
• In theory, producers of electricity from the
  member countries should compete with each other
  on the European market which means sale of
  electricity is supposed to be free of the
  boundaries.
• European Commission is constantly monitoring the
  opening and competition in the power market.

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EU energy market realties

• The recently published report exposes the
  serious distortions of competition and the lack
  of level playing field and points reasons of
  that condition
• Too few cross-border transmission links,
• Too dominant national power companies,
• Too biased grid operators,
• The non-existence of a liquid wholesale market

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Conclusion

• Demand for electricity in the EU grows rapidly
  because of industrialization and urbanization
• Europe is energy intensive and heavy reliant on
  imports already 50 today, and projected to
  increase to 70 within two decades. By 2030 the
  level of gas imports could rise from 50 (in
  2000) to 81.
• Governments need to make steps forward to
  implement the market opening measures required by
  the gas and electricity Directives.

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Conclusion

• Europe is running out of indigenous energy
  supplies at a time when world resources are
  diminishing and are concentrated into fewer, more
  geopolitically sensitive regions. The resulting
  constraints and associated increases in fuel
  prices are a threat to both economic and
  political stability
• The effects of climate change require a continued
  reduction in carbon emissions from the power
  sector.

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Conclusion

• Wind power requires no fuel. This means no
• 1. geopolitical risk,
• 2. no external energy dependence,
• 3. no extraction or refining,
• 4. no resource constraints,
• 5. no CO2 emissions

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Conclusion

• From those reasons wind energy is a great
  alternative for energy from the traditional
  sources.
• To develop that alternative, political climate
  should be created and maintained.

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• Europeans should finally realize that there is a
  high time for action luckily wind will never
  stop blowing