Table 5 shows that the first 13 wind turbine manufacturers supply more than 95
per cent of the world market. Of these, ten are European. Important European
turbine manufacturers include Vestas, Gamesa, Enercon, NEG Micon, Bonus,
and Nordex. The majority of the turbine producers are Danish companies (DK),
which operate worldwide, typically exporting 70- 90 per cent of their total pro-
duction. For example, the biggest firm, Danish Vestas, had an average export
share of 83.4 per cent for 1998-2000 (BTM consult, 2001, p. 15).
5. Future Market Developments
In section 2.3 we discussed the possibilities for wind energy to become com-
petitive compared to fossil fuels in the future. So far, wind markets have pri-
marily been driven by environmental concerns and political reasons in Western
Europe. However, the learning curve in figure 3 might underestimate the poten-
tial of wind energy. The reason is that offshore wind power is expected by some
to be the big thing in the future. According to Eddie O’Connor, Vice President
of the European Wind Energy Association: ”The development of major off-
shore wind energy parks will be the biggest energy revolution since the internal
combustion engine” EWEA (2002a). Three main reasons support this forceful
statement. First, offshore wind turbines have the potential to become profitable
due to the size of new wind turbines (2-3 MW). Second, offshore projects al-
low large developments because there is plenty of space. If placed more than 10
km from shore, the wind turbines will normally be off-sight and there will be
sufficient water depth for installation and access for operation and maintenance.
Third, the potential for supply of wind based energy is huge. A low estimate
would be that 1/3 of total electricity consumption in the EU today could be pro-
duced by wind turbines (BTM Consult, 2001, p. 39). EWEA (2002a) estimates
that offshore wind energy alone could provide up to two thirds of Europe’s
electricity needs by 2020. However, the main problem linked to offshore wind
power is the accessibility. In bad weather with high winds, ice, etc., advanced
remote and self-operation and maintenance schemes are necessary. The full de-
velopment of such off-shore technology means huge investments and may cre-
ate new alliances among firms (BTM Consult (2001, p. 42).
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