EU wind industry faces critical worker shortage

» By | Published 05 Aug 2013 |

Workers-Wanted-TPwind-2The European wind industry has grown so rapidly over the past decade that it is facing a critical shortage of skilled personnel, a new report reveals. There is currently a shortage of 7,000 qualified personnel required by the European wind energy sector each year, a figure that could increase to 15,000 by 2030 if the number of graduates taking courses relevant to the industry does not rise.

The figures come from a new report by the European Wind Energy Technology Platform (TPWind), based on research by renewable energy consultancy GL Garrad Hassan: “Workers wanted: The EU wind energy sector skills gap”. A full 78% of companies that responded to the TPWind questionnaire said they “found it difficult or very difficult to find suitably trained staff”. This in an EU with an overall 11% unemployment rate, and a youth unemployment rate of 20.9% (5.5 million people between the ages of 15-24).

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Significance of Deep Water report is technological advance in offshore wind

» By | Published 02 Aug 2013 |

The launch of ‘Deep Water: the next step for offshore wind energy’ saw an enthusiastic media focus on the idea that offshore wind could provide Europe with enough electricity to power Europe four times over. The headlines were impressive, but that offshore wind holds massive potential for Europe is not news for anyone following the wind industry.

As long ago as 2008, when far less than the current total of 6,040MW of offshore capacity was installed in Europe, the European Commission said that “offshore wind can and must make a substantial contribution to meeting the EU’s energy policy objectives through a very significant increase – in the order of 30-40 times by 2020 and 100 times by 2030 – in installed capacity compared to today.”

EWEA has projected that offshore will see 40 GW installed capacity by 2020, equivalent to 4% of EU electricity demand, and 150 GW by 2030, meeting 14% of EU electricity demand.

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Jobs on offshore wind turbines prompt futuristic design proposals

» By | Published 25 Jul 2013 |

web_morphocode-wind-loft-conceptGrowing interest in the rapidly-expanding offshore wind sector took a new twist earlier this week when the website of the influential US magazine Popular Science published an article featuring marine-based wind turbine concepts with “super-chic lofts for employees.”

The article said that a Bulgarian design firm predicts a future in which gigantic offshore wind turbines come equipped with futuristic housing for workers.

“Part of the inspiration for these lofts was a European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) report estimating that by 2030, there will be over 300,000 jobs in offshore wind power,” the article said.

In fact, the European wind industry faces a severe skills shortage of around 7,000 appropriately qualified staff per year. This shortfall could climb to 15,000 by 2030 — nearly 2% of the entire wind industry workforce — if numbers of suitable workers don’t increase.

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Media reports on offshore boost in 2013 but heeds EWEA’s warning

» By | Published 19 Jul 2013 |

RechargecoverThe release of EWEA’s offshore statistics for the first half of 2013 generated a lot of column inches around the world. The headlines were generally positive, reporting on the 277 offshore wind turbines newly grid connected in the first six months of this year. But the articles did not shy away from reporting on the warning signs evident in the sector, where financing of new projects has slowed down to a crawl.

Many reports focused on the details of new offshore capacity, compared with the same period last year. The first half of 2012 saw around 500 MW installed, so this year’s 1,045MW was a doubling of that figure. The total offshore capacity installed last year, at 1.2GW, has almost been surpassed in the first six months of this year, bringing the overall offshore capacity in Europe to 6.04GW across 58 wind farms in ten countries.

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From India to Greece, the pace is picking up for Global Wind Day

» By | Published 07 Jun 2013 |
A scene from Global Wind Day last year

A scene from Global Wind Day last year

By Jessica Anania

On 15 June, thousands of people will gather at over 200 events across the globe to discover wind energy as part of Global Wind Day. Global Wind Day offers both wind energy enthusiasts and novices opportunities to visit wind farms, discover the technology and its benefits and to have fun at one of the many festivals and open days on offer.

While the events of Global Wind Day are widespread, all involved are united by a belief in the importance of advocating for green energy.

In Tamilnadu, India, over 320 students at the Everest KenBridge School aged 3-13 will spend 15 June examining the structures of wind turbines and learning how to calculate wind speeds. Mr. Jayaganapthy, the school’s principal, describes how their area has already faced severe energy shortages and remains heavily reliant on diesel fuel. After installing solar powered lights and realising their efficiency, he became even more interested in renewable energy options. And he realised that his students were too when involving them in Global Wind Day.

“For every social cause, we need to promote awareness programmes amongst students, which will in turn become a revolution,” Mr. Jayaganapthy explained.

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