New giant turbines to blow away economic concerns

To the untrained eye wind turbines look the same as they did ten years ago. But they have been quietly getting bigger and better, and experts are predicting we could soon see turbines large enough for people to live inside

Despite the tightening credit conditions and well-reported spiraling cost of installing offshore wind power, those involved with wind energy industry have little concern over the future of the still fast exanding market.
They know that Obama’s renewable commitments in the US, and the EU’s targets, mean that the long-term demand is there regardless of any current financing difficulties. Moreover, they have seen the rapid pace of technological innovation that has characterised the sector over the past decade and are quietly confident that if turbine performance continues to imporve at its current pace it won’t be long until they no longer need subsidies to compete with fossil fuels on price.

They have also seen what is happening in China, where total installed capacity has doubled every four years up to 2008, and where the state is in the process of installing a 3.85GW in one field on the edge of the Gobi desert– equivalent to the UK’s entire wind capacity.

“That project is gobsmacking, to use a technical term,” says Andrew Garrad, chief executive of Garrad Hassan, the largest wind consultancy in the world, adding that China is now fully committed to becoming a major manufacturing hub for the booming global wind turbine market.

Business Green