7. What trends are shaping the future of wind energy?
The future of wind power is driven by three trends: repowering, hybridisation and offshore expansion. klimaVest is focusing on these developments.
What does repowering mean for wind turbines?
In the future, it will be more about the topic of repowering. This is mainly due to the lack of location. "The most profitable locations possible are already built with the appropriate systems. Proximity rules to inhabited areas, nature conservation regulations and local resistance also make it difficult to find a location," explains Dr Nicole Arnold, Member of the Management Board of Commerz Real. At the same time, many plants from the early days of the EEG are reaching the end of their around 20-year life cycle. “That’s why it’s time for repowering, i.e. replacing it with newer systems that are about three times more powerful on average than the old ones,” says Arnold.
Repowering is about modernising renewable energy systems and making them more efficiently usable. This approach offers the benefit that the site already exists and is infrastructurally prepared for the operation of a renewable energy plant such as a wind farm. On the one hand, repowering makes it easier to connect to the grid, and on the other hand, such projects can usually be approved more quickly. Repowering is therefore a valuable approach to refurbishing renewable energy systems as easily as possible and using them as efficiently and profitably as possible.
Why hybrid systems are the future
The focus is on hybridization, i.e. the combination of different technologies: This involves combining different technologies for electricity production, such as wind and solar power. On the other hand, production and storage technologies are also to be hybridised so that produced electricity can be stored and fed into the grid at a different time. The introduction and implementation of such hybrid plants ensures that natural fluctuations in electricity production can be better compensated for. klimaVest has also recognised the potential of this model and has already acquired a Spanish solar farm for its portfolio, which will be supplemented by a wind farm in the coming years. Hybrid models that combine different methods of electricity production and storage will gain considerable popularity in the coming years.
What role does offshore wind play?
The third theme focuses on future challenges in the field of wind power investments, namely offshore wind farms. The rising costs and disrupted supply chains that have burdened the economy in recent years have been particularly evident here. Due to the installation in open water, the manufacturing and installation costs are already higher than for onshore wind turbines, and the more extreme weather conditions also cause higher wear.
At the same time, however, the yields are almost twice as high as for wind farms on the mainland. The more plants are built, the more costs could be reduced in the long term. However, in order to exploit this potential, the expansion must also be driven forward accordingly in the coming years.