Funding issue looms for EU wind power
The group expects 10 gigawatts GW of new wind generating capacity to be installed in the European Union this year, compared with 10.2 GW last year, taking total capacity to around 85 GW.
"We predict another strong year for wind turbine installations in Europe," EWEA Chief Executive Christian Kjaer told reporters.
"In Spain, we expect installations to decline quite dramatically, but that is likely to be compensated predominantly by installations in new European member states, led by Romania and Bulgaria," he added.
Wind power's previously explosive growth appears to have leveled off in Europe.
But the group said it was significant that part of this year's growth was based on orders placed since the start of the financial crisis — proving the sector's resilience.
Offshore wind capacity looks set to advance strongly with about 1 GW of capacity installed at sea this year, compared with around 577 megawatts in 2009. But funding remains an issue.
"Order books were really a problem in the second half of 2009, mostly because it was very difficult for project developers to get finance," said Kjaer.
"Orders are picking up with more availability of capital — project finance, but also bank lending," he added. "Where we are still seeing problems is very large projects, in particular offshore wind farms."
"There is still a reluctance among financiers to do syndicated loans. This is where the European Investment Bank has been stepping up lending. That's been desperately needed."
Related News
The German economy used to be the envy of the world. What happened?
BERLIN - Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened?
For most of this century, Germany racked up one economic success after another, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half the economy ran on exports.
Jobs were plentiful, the government’s financial coffers grew as other European countries drowned in debt, and books were written about what other countries could learn from Germany.
No longer. Now, Germany is the world’s worst-performing major developed economy, with both the International Monetary Fund and…
