A chapter is dedicated to research objectives and funding for wind energy research. As regards Europe, the RTD budgets of Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands accounted for two thirds of the average annual wind energy RTD funding by the EU15 between 2000 and 2004. During this period, the European funding budget in wind energy was €57.7 million compared to €32.1 million in the USA and €7.4 million in Japan. In Europe and the USA approximately 17% of the renewable RTD budget went to wind energy research whereas in Japan this figure amounted to only 5%.

The report also makes clear that the different regions focus on different research areas and topics. The EC, as well as Member States like Germany and Denmark, focuses explicitly on upcoming and upscaled wind energy systems, such as offshore wind farms and next-generation turbines (up to 8 to 10 MW). The United States focuses on lower wind speed technology in order to exploit the potential for wind energy at lower wind sites close to consumer markets. Japan’s priority area of research is grid integration.

The report: “The State and Prospects of European Energy Research Comparison of Commission, Member and Non-Member States R&D Portfolios” can be accessed by clicking on this link.