From the editor


A year to remember 2


022 was a challenging time for the energy industry, particularly in Europe – between the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing energy crisis,


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World Wind Technology Issue 1 2023


Editorial Editor Nicholas Kenny


nicholas.kenny@progressivemediainternational.com Sub-editor Tal Abdulrazaq Group art director Henrik Williams Designer Martin Faulkner Production manager Dave Stanford Head of content Jake Sharp


Commercial Client services executive Ruchita Marwaha Sales manager Roy Morris roy.morris@progressivemediainternational.com Managing director William Crocker


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there hasn’t been a lot of breathing space. For starters, wind turbine orders dropped by 4% on 2021 as the market stalled, due in part to inflation, supply chain issues and inefficient permitting and licensing rules. Globally, the industry added about 78GW of new wind capacity, down 17% from 2021 – but only 9GW of that was added in the EU, half of what it needed to meet its targets. It’s heartening, then, to see that the EU has chosen not to ignore these problems but instead learned the lessons from the challenges at hand. REPowerEU, the European Commission’s plan to end reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2030, aimed to establish energy security for Europe while also driving forward renewable power. Under the revised targets, the EU is planning to invest heavily in wind energy in the coming years, aiming for 42.5% of its energy mix to come from wind power by 2030 – this would be some 420GW of wind energy, up from 205GW in place today. Offshore wind will see the biggest jump – from 15GW today to over 100GW by 2030. In this issue, we examine some of the issues facing the wind energy sector, and also the parts of the industry thriving despite them. China, for example, has seen its wind energy sector avoid many of the pitfalls that have plagued its Western counterparts – but that’s not to say its future is necessarily secure, as we explore on page 10. Back in Europe, we learn more about how permitting obstacles are holding back the continent’s potential on page 20, with particular focus on the German market. On page 34, we take a look at how wind power can aid the energy transition as we wean ourselves off fossil fuels, helping to decarbonise oil and gas platforms in the North Sea.


2023 is shaping up to be a crucial year for both the wind energy market and for the battle against climate change, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism, even as some of the challenges of 2022 remain.


Nicholas Kenny, editor


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