Wind Energy

EU-funded European Wind Energy Association projects plan for the future

They may not make the headlines very often, but the EU-funded projects European Wind Energy Association is involved in are key to driving the industry forward.

Frequently involving a wide range of experts and years of work, EWEA projects carry out important studies and research into areas of wind power that are vital for the functioning of a future power system based on renewables.

EWEA is currently coordinating five wind power projects which are funded by the European Union, most of which run for several years. They can roughly be divided into two types – policy and technology.

On the technological side, the first project is called OffshoreGrid, a techno-economic study, funded by the EU’s Intelligent Energy – Europe programme, that is developing a scientific view of an offshore grid in Northern Europe, followed by the Mediterranean region. The phrase “techno-economic” refers to the fact that the project is carrying out analysis using two models, one focusing on offshore grid infrastructure, the other on the power market. The project’s final publication will be launched in Brussels on 5 October. See here for more details.

The second project on the technological side goes by the snappy name of TWENTIES – an acronym for the slightly less snappy “Transmission system operation with large penetration of Wind and other renewable Electricity sources in Networks by means of innovative Tools and Integrated Energy Solutions”. The TWENTIES is a €57 million project (€32 million provided by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme) which aims to demonstrate how to operate grid systems with large amounts of wind and other renewables. See more here.

Still looking at technology, but with a more political orientation, there are three EU-funded projects that EWEA is involved in. TOP Wind (Technological platform Operational Programme Wind) is funded by the European Commission through the 7th Framework Programme. It works with the European Wind Energy Technology Platform – TPWind – whose Secretariat is funded by the project and hosted by EWEA – on research and developing strategic pathways for the growth of the sector. TPWind has just made a call for expression of interest to select new TPWind Steering Committee members – see here for more details.

Another project is ORECCA (Offshore Renewable Energy Conversion platforms – Coordination Action), which aims to create a framework for knowledge sharing on offshore wind, wave and tidal energy foundations. In September, this project will publish its research Roadmap. ORECCA is also funded by the 7th Framework Programme.

Finally, SEANERGY 2020, funded by the Intelligent Energy – Europe Programme, will provide an in-depth analysis of the national and international Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) practices. It will make recommendations on how to remove obstacles to maritime spatial planning policy for offshore power generation, to help reach the 2020 renewables target.

By Tom Rowe, blog.ewea.org/