Wind Energy: A Mighty Force
By Jenny Bieksha, Bishop & Associates Inc.

Wind power plants depend on one variable resource: the wind. Wind power plants require no fossil fuel and produce little environmental pollution during their manufacture, operation, and decommissioning. By definition, wind power uses the kinetic energy of flowing air to create mechanical energy in a wind turbine that can be transformed into pollution-free electricity.

Wind energy is now an important player in the world’s energy markets. Wind power represents a significant proportion of the electricity generation in a number of countries, helping to meet the electricity needs of more than 25 million households worldwide. Today, wind power produces around 1 percent of global electricity production, but is projected to increase to 2 percent in 2010 and to 6 percent in 2017.

Global wind energy capacity grew by 28.8 percent last year, even higher than the average over the past decade, to reach total global installations of more than 121 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2008. Over 27 GW of new wind power generation capacity came online in 2008, 36 percent more than in 2007. Based on accelerated development and further improved policies, a global capacity of more than 1,500,000 megawatts (MW) is possible by the year 2020.

Total worldwide installations in 2008 were more than 27,000 MW, dominated by the three main markets of Europe, North America, and Asia. In Europe, almost 8.9.GW worth of new wind turbines brought total wind power generation capacity up to nearly 66 GW, making wind power the leading power source for new-generation capacity. In North America, the United States surpassed Germany to become first in global wind power installations, more than doubling its capacity since 2006 to 27,539 MW. In Asia, the Chinese wind energy market has again doubled in size compared to 2007. The growing wind power market in China has also encouraged domestic production of wind turbines and components, and the Chinese manufacturing industry is becoming increasingly mature, stretching over the whole supply chain.

As 2008 came to a close, it became apparent that the economic and financial downturns had begun to take a toll on new wind development. New, installed wind capacity worldwide is forecast to increase by only 14 percent in 2009. Capital expenditures over the next two years could fall by as much as 30 percent. The slowdown is closely tied to the global economic crisis. That could cause demand for wind turbines to fall by as much as one-third in 2009. In the long term, industry watchers say, the business case for wind remains intact. Global wind capacity continues to be forecast to nearly double by 2020.

Key Players in the Wind Market

In 2008, high demand and supply chain backlogs provided plenty of room for new players to enter the market and still allow established players to account for over 50 percent installation growth. The wind turbine market remains dominated by Vestas, GE, Gamesa, Enercon, Suzlon, and Siemens, who, as a group, accounted for 70 percent of last year’s installations. New competitors, such as Sinovel, Dongfang, and Clipper, made a very strong impression on the market, and are in a good position to capture additional market share over the next few years.

In spite of expectations for modest growth in 2009, investments and plant capacity expansion point to a collective optimism on the part of many manufacturers for the long-term market. With an improving market in 2010, manufacturers with capacity expansion plans appear well-positioned for the recovery.

Wind Turbines
Wind turbines extract kinetic energy from moving air flow (wind) and convert it into electricity via an aerodynamic rotor, connected by a transmission system, to an electric generator. The largest wind turbines today are 5-6 MW units with a rotor diameter of up to 126 meters; that is 50 percent longer than the wing span of the new Airbus A380. The estimated lifetime of an individual wind turbine is 20 to 25 years. Life spans may stretch as the technology continues to mature. However, few turbines have been around long enough to test this assumption. Due to extensive testing and certification, the reliability of wind turbines is approximately 99 percent.

Main Components of a Wind Turbine
Since the first commercial wind turbines were deployed in the 1980s, their installed capacity, efficiency, and visual design have improved enormously. The majority of commercial turbines operate on a horizontal axis with three evenly spaced blades. Wind turbines consist of four large main components: a foundation unit, a tower, a nacelle (turbine housing), and a rotor. The foundation takes the form of a giant concrete block buried in the earth. The nacelle is positioned at the top of the tower, and the rotor is attached to the front of the nacelle from which power is transferred through a gearbox to a generator. The nacelle contains the large primary components, such as the main axle, gearbox, generator, transformer, control system, and electrical cabinet. The tower is used to guide the cables from the nacelle down to a transformer, and eventually into the grid network.

Wind Supply Chain
Complete wind turbines and their support components are manufactured in factories throughout the world. The leading turbine manufacturers are based in Denmark, Germany, Spain, the United States, India, and China. Although the mass production of turbines started in Europe, global demand for the technology has now created a market in many other countries, most recently China, which is now host to the largest turbine manufacturing industry in the world.

A vertically integrated supply chain is becoming more common with the larger global manufacturers of wind turbines. One of the world’s largest, Gamesa, designs and manufactures its own blades, root joints, and manufacturing molds for blades and towers, in addition to performing wind turbine assembly. Gamesa also has other companies that manufacture other major components of the wind turbine, such as gearboxes, generators, and converters. This industrial capacity allows for comprehensive control of the production process of the wind turbines, from their design to the manufacturing of the different components, in order to provide the greatest quality and to cut delivery times to a minimum.

There are over 8,000 components in a modern wind turbine, ranging from steel towers and high-tech composites for blades, gearboxes, bearings, electrical wiring, power electronics, and more. Interconnect manufacturers typically have a wide industrial product portfolio, with the ability to deliver pre-assembled and in-house tested units, pre-assembled plug and play solutions, and cable assemblies. Modular, standardized functional units are used to minimize down times, reduce in-plant pre-assembly, and reduce installation time at the wind park. Due to the extreme climatic and environmental conditions wind turbines may be subject to, product solutions are designed for harsh environments, including vibration and shock. Cable assembly solutions include fiber optic, data transfer, power distribution, control, and monitoring.

As the wind power market has been well-established since the 1980s, there are quite a few interconnect manufacturers designed into global product today. Some of these include HARTING (Han), Tyco Electronics (HVS), Amphenol Industrial (SurLok), and Weidmüller (WeiCoS).

Note: An excellent depiction of the wind turbine supply chain potential is illustrated in the following article from Tyco Electronics, “Connectors for Wind Power Ease Installation and Maintenance.”

Wind Technology
Technology efficiency gains are ongoing. The main design drivers for current wind technology include reliability, grid compatibility, maximum efficiency and aerodynamic performance, increased fatigue resistance of major components such as gearboxes, high productivity for low wind speeds, deep off-shore foundations, and standardization and certification.

Ongoing innovations in turbine design include the use of different combinations of composite materials to manufacture blades. Different designs work to ensure that the blade’s weight is kept to a minimum; variations in the drive train system can reduce loads and increase reliability; and improved control systems can ensure better compatibility with the grid network.

Wind Standards
As a result of the globalization of the wind turbine industry during the past decade, both the IEC and ISO have succeeded in developing specific standards for wind turbines and their associated components. There has been worldwide participation by research institutions, wind turbine manufacturers, and international certifying bodies in the development committees’ work on these standards. At this time, the IEC/ISO standards are still limited to principles governing the safety, load, design, and type testing of selected components.

Over the past year, it seems that the extraordinary success of the wind industry has finally caught the attention of the main players in the energy policy arena. Whether it is in the reports of the IPCC, the IEA, or in the energy debate in an increasing number of countries around the world, the idea that wind power is going to play a significant role in our energy future has begun to take hold. Clean, emissions-free wind power is now correctly regarded as an increasingly important part of the answer to the twin global crises of energy security and climate change.

Jenny Bieksha
Director, Renewable Energy and Test, Measurement, and Instrumentation
Jenny Bieksha joined Bishop & Associates in 2008 as its market segment director for the renewable energy, and the test, measurement, and instrumentation markets. She is currently a management consultant specializing in strategic business planning, with an emphasis on the development of program, market, and product plans. Bieksha has more than 20 years of experience in the electronics industry, with a background in market management, business development, channel sales, product management, and operations for ITT Corporation, Delphi Connection Systems, and Hughes Aircraft Company.

Bieksha has a bachelor of science degree in marketing from the University of Wyoming, and has since received her certificate as a project management professional.