German Chancellor Angela Merkel

At the end of last month the Economist published an article on Germany’s energy transition to renewables labelling it a “lunatic gamble”. This could not be further from the truth and in this blog we’ll explain why…

The article claimed that German plans to switch to renewable energy are risky, and yet the transition roadmap is based on the recommendations of an expert advisory panel to the German government, the German Advisory Council on the Environment. This body examined the environmental, economic and energy security impacts of a fully renewable energy system and characterised it as ‘climate-friendly, reliable and affordable’.

“I was born and studied in Bremerhaven, but when I left in 1996, there were no career opportunities there”, says Ronny Meyer.

BY the mid-1990s, the shipping and fishing industries that had traditionally dominated north-west Germany, where Bremerhaven is situated were dying, and there was felt to be no future.

“The unemployment rate was very high and anyone who had studied was leaving the city”, says Meyer.

Be it a flat-pack chest of drawers or bedside lamps, most of us have bought something from Ikea. And now, the Swedish chain well-known for creating a revolution in home furnishings is at the forefront of a hopefully incoming tide of companies to back wind power.

Ikea has bought six German wind farms, adding to its portfolio of four French wind farms purchased last year and bringing the total number of wind turbines the company owns to 52. The German farms provide enough electricity to power 17 Ikea stores, and in total the firm can now meet10% of its electricity needs with wind power.

The Financial Times reports that Ikea intends to make further investments in wind and solar power in order to meet its long-term goal to secure all its electricity needs from renewable sources.

“We are conscious of our impact on people and the environment, so we feel duty bound to act responsibly in all we do,” Mikael Ohlsson, Chief Executive of Ikea, told the paper.

However, Ikea’s green credentials were tarnished last year when the company was found guilty by French courts of building a new storage unit close to Marseille on envrionmentally sensitive land, Spiegel Online reports.

Ikea joins Google – another company that has invested in wind power. In May, the internet giant invested in two wind farms in the US that generate 169.5 MW of power, enough to provide electricity for more than 55,000 homes.

Norbert Röttgen, German Federal Environment Minister, has thrown his backing behind developing more offshore wind farms in Germany. Röttgen announced today that offshore companies can rely on debt guarantees from the governemnt to secure the financing of “10 mega projects” in the North and Baltic seas up until the end of 2011.

The announcement signals a stronger than previously thought support for wind energy from Röttgen, German newspaper the Spiegel said.

Under the plans, 10,000 MW of offshore wind farm capacity will be built within the next 10 years, and 25,000 MW in the next 20 years.
“I believe that we can reach nearly 100% renewable energy by 2050, and wind power will provide about 50% of this,” Röttgen said in an interview with the Hamburger Abendblatt.

GWEC

As BP continues to search for ways to plug the leak that occurred three weeks ago at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico spilling more than three million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, it is becoming more and more clear that the world needs alternative solutions.

Offshore wind power can provide part of the answer to the dilemma of reducing our dependence on finite and polluting fossil fuels. In Europe alone the winds blowing across the seas are an abundant energy source which can be transformed into green electricity that does not emit CO₂, and will reduce Europe’s growing dependence on imported fossil fuels, creating thousands of sustainable jobs in the process.

There are currently 830 offshore wind turbines now installed and connected to the grid, totalling 2,063 MW in 39 wind farms in nine European countries. Some 17 offshore wind farms are under construction in Europe, totalling more than 3,500 MW, with just under half being constructed in UK waters. In addition, a further 52 offshore wind farms have won full consent in European waters, totalling more than 16,000 MW, with just over half of this capacity planned in Germany. And the growth rates are impressive: In 2009, the market grew by 54% compared to 2008. In 2010 the market grew by an even more considerable 75% compared to the previous year.

EWEA has a target of reaching 230 GW of wind power by 2020 which will include 40 GW of offshore power. This is a challenging but very feasible goal. By 2030, just ten years later, we envisage some 150 GW of offshore wind power.

If all offshore wind projects in their various stages of planning are added up, there are already some 100 GW of offshore wind projects in addition to existing farms. If these become fully functioning wind farms, they would produce 10% of the EU’s electricity while also avoiding 200 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.

Europe must now use the coming decade to prepare for the large-scale exploitation of its biggest indigenous energy resource – offshore wind – overcoming the seemingly significant obstacles – including underwater electricity grids and cables, building the harbours and barges capable of facilitating the installation of offshore wind farms – in the path of its development.

As the US and China are already beginning to show, Europe’s success in offshore wind power can then be repeated the world over.