It’s been another busy day so far here at OFFSHORE 2011 in Amsterdam, and today the focus is on audience participation. First up were five of offshore wind energy’s leading manufacturers – Alstom, Nordex, Gamesa, Siemens and Vestas – in the battle of the big turbines.

Each manufacturer outlined the benefits of their future turbines, with the main differences lying in the generators (direct drive, hybird or gear) and in blade length. It was clear that the industry’s leading players are aiming high – at 7 MW machines with rotor diameters of up to 154 meters.

CROSS POSTED FROM THE AWEA BLOG WWW.AWEA.ORG/BLOG

Day 1 at EWEA Offshore 2011: An industry approaching adulthood

Posted: 2011-11-29 Lauren Glickman, Social Media/Online Advocacy Mgr

Despite being over 3800 miles from home, the message I heard at this morning’s opening session of The EWEA Offshore conference sounded very familiar.  The Conference kicked off this morning with over 7,500 key stakeholders descending upon Amsterdam to discuss the pressing issues facing the offshore wind industry in Europe.  EWEA kicked things off by releasing their latest analysis of all existing offshore wind projects in 17 EU member states.

Maxime Verhagen is Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs – and so responsible for energy. In the latest Wind Directions, he explains why his government has cut spending on offshore wind energy.

The Minister starts by re-affirming the Dutch government’s commitment to the European renewables targets for 2020. “To meet these targets the government will stimulate the most cost-effective renewable energy mix”, he says.

He also agrees “on the potential of offshore wind for the Dutch economy”, adding that “The Netherlands has numerous companies with an outstanding record in designing, constructing and maintaining offshore wind farms.”

A European offshore supergrid – with interconnections between European countries and to offshore wind farms in Europe’s seas – is the vision, but there are big and significant barriers to achieving that vision.

‘We don’t have an interconnected European network today, and we don’t have an offshore grid,’ Ana Aguado from Friends of the Super Grid said today at OFFSHORE 2011 in Amsterdam, outlining the problem in a nutshell. ‘There can be no transition [to a renewable electricity sector] without transmission,’ Eddie O’Connor from Mainstream renewable power said referring to the significant need for grid infrastructure.

Cost cutting, calls for innovation in the industry and calls for industry cooperation across Europe – these were just some of the hot topics at the opening session of the European Wind Energy Association’s OFFSHORE 2011 conference and exhibition in Amsterdam today. Ian Marchant, CEO of SSE Renewables and chair of OFFSHORE 2011 said that the offshore wind industry is now growing up. It was born five years ago and now, with 140 GW online, planned or consented, the industry is entering a new phase. ‘But we need to be bolder’, Marchant said.