Dirk Briese, wind:research "The Market for On- and Offshore Wind Rotor Blades"

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Hi Dirk! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! What is the main challenge facing the Rotor Blade industry, in your opinion?

The combination of

  • requested technology development (12, 15 and 18-MW turbines with offshore blades up to 140 m length, e.g. Mingyang´s 18 MW prototype),
  • quality (to avoid failures and large component exchanges), and
  • costs (production and operation costs!).

Especially the (too) fast growing length of the blades is a challenge, while keeping costs and quality under control. Repair and maintenance costs has been high in the past. Another challenges is the recycling of the old rotor blades. There are always new approaches to fully recycle the old rotor blades, but the materials used make this difficult and challenging. In addition, the lack of skilled workers poses enormous challenges not only for the rotor blade sector, but for the entire offshore wind energy industry and the monotoring and inspection should not be underestimeted.

Where do you see the industry heading in the next 5 years?

In cooperation with Messe Hamburg, we are publishing the "WEtix" (WindEnergy trend:index), a survey monitoring and assessing the on- and offshore wind industry every half year since 2018. The assessment of the industry by the market participants was mostly positive and despite a currently depressed situation due to e.g. the Ukraine war, shortage of skilled workers etc. they see and expect a positive development of the industry. Certainly this is because of the excellent framework conditions: almost every country with a shoreline is now developing offshore wind energy, due to rising fuel and CO2-costs and availability of energy in general.

What are some of the biggest trends, risks and opportunities our audience should look out for in this industry?

As mentioned above, in cooperation with Messe Hamburg, we publish the WEtix. By evaluating the responses of the various market participants and our experience, we see the following trends, risks and opportunities in the industry:

  • Climate protection is becoming increasingly important worldwide – in Europe, in the EU and in Germany – not least because of the increasingly visible consequences of climate change. To realise climate protection, renewables are – with the background of rising electricity demand because of electromobility, heating pumps, electrolysis for hydrogen production and so on – getting more and more important. Within the renewables wind (on- and offshore) will be the most important source in the northern hemisphere.
  • Costs and consolidation: Depending on the political targets and because of environmental regulations, offshore wind farms may be build further offshore and in greater water depths, which will see higher OPEX. There is an enormous need for cost effective structures (production, transport, installation) with good track-record/experience to be successful in bidding for tenders.
  • Approvals  of sites and infrastructure:  On- and offshore sites are not easy to find (onshore is more limited) and to be approved,
  • Technologies: Technically, the size and/or number of turbines per wind farm will increase in the following years, so other components, e.g. foundations with higher load-bearing capacity (e.g. XL-/XXL-MP), are needed respectively have to be developed.
  • Recycling: Currently, recyclable rotor blades are in trend, but of course the size or length of the rotor blades is still the most relevant in order to generate as much energy as possible. The combination of lightweight construction, recyclable materials and the largest possible rotor blades will be the most attractive in the future.


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