- By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) - 31 January 2011, 17:13
- In Editors' Blog
Solar soars past wind in Europe: Is this a new trend?
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Mark Osborne
Mark Osborne is currently the Senior News Editor for Photovoltaics International and PV-Tech website. He has launched multiple technology titles in print and online covering manufacturing in the automotive, shipping, semiconductor and solar sectors in a publishing career spanning three decades. Mark started blogging in 2005, the first technology editor to do so and has worked online since 1996. A veteran manufacturing technology journalist and editor, Mark has been responsible for a series of innovative formats for delivering technical content to an engineering-based audience.
New wind power capacity installed in the EU last year reached 9.3GW, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). Even though the solar sector seems sluggish in declaring its installed figures, just the official forecast numbers coming from Germany, Italy, France and Spain alone would result in over 10GW of PV installations in 2010.
Total investments in wind were unchanged from 2009, although new power installed was down 13.9% compared to 2009 (9.7 GW). This was attributed to the shift in offshore installations, which grew 51%, while onshore declined 13.9%. The extra costs associated with offshore installations would seem to be the reason for the decline.
I can only assume this is the first time solar trumped wind, and with growth in PV expected this year in Europe - though forecasts differ - the trend could continue in 2011.
Perhaps this is an inflection point for the PV industry, in respect to European renewable energy trends?
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This may well be at least partially indicative of the situation in China where they produce 97% and control 95% of the world supply of rare earth elements (REE’s) and more specifically heavy rare earth elements (HREE’s) that are necessary for high power magnets, as used in electric motors and wind turbines (a large turbine has between 0.5 - 1.0 tons of magnets with approx. 15% being HREE content).
This effect is further compounded by the fact that last year China introduced new policies on export supply of HREE’s, with requirement to be finished products rather than materials, also reducing the export quotas and similarly is reducing them again this year. In addition to this, there is the plan by China to dramatically increase it’s own wind industries for manufacturing and domestic wind capacity deployment.
Irrespective of this, it’s still great that solar-pv has reached a milestone of becoming the technology with the largest new annual renewable energy capacity deployment in the EU and second only to new gas powered electricity generation for all technologies. Next major milestone step is probably to overtake cumulative installed EU wind capacity!