Renewable energies: Survey: Sentiment in the wind energy industry has increased

According to a survey, the mood in the wind energy industry has improved significantly in Germany and the European Union. Positive changes in the perception of market development and general conditions were observed in both the onshore and offshore sectors – that is, wind power on land and on the high seas, respectively – according to the 13th trend index of WindEnergy Hamburg, the world’s leading trade fair for wind energy. North America, Asia and the rest of the world, on the other hand, rated the global market slightly worse.

Following the decline in the previous survey, the average expected output of newly installed offshore turbines for 2030 increased significantly from 18 to 19 megawatts. At the end of 2023, prototypes with around 22 megawatts were presented. This put pressure on the market and led 20 percent of respondents to opt for an output of 22 to 25 megawatts. In the onshore sector, on the other hand, a slightly lower output of newly installed turbines is expected for 2030 – on average around 8.3 megawatts.

Although the regulations, permits and grid expansion represented major hurdles for both onshore and offshore wind energy for those surveyed, the values ​​in the onshore sector were significantly higher. The situation was different in the area of ​​investment costs: almost one in two respondents saw a major hurdle for offshore wind energy. The technological challenges were also greater there. It is striking, however, that the hurdles in the offshore sector were nevertheless perceived to be significantly lower.

According to the information, the WindEnergy Trend Index has been collected every six months since 2018. This time, more than 800 people gave their assessment of developments in the global onshore and offshore wind industry in the survey from mid-March to mid-May. This means that more than 12,000 online questionnaires have been completed by experts in the wind energy industry since 2018.