The European Union built a record number of new wind farms in 2023 but is still trailing its own targets for adding the renewable resource to its energy mix to reach its climate ambitions and cut reliance on Russian gas.
It is fair to say 2023 has been a tough year for the wind turbine industry. After years of exceptional growth, accelerated technology innovation and declining costs, the sector was hit with multiple challenges sending ripples of delays and doubts.
Orsted A/S (CPH: ORSTED) shares slumped to their lowest level in six years after the Danish utility dropped two US wind projects and recorded 28.4 billion kroner ($4 billion) in impairments as the crisis in the wind industry is only getting worse.
The biggest manufacturers of wind turbines and solar panels are facing their most serious financial challenges in years even as deployments of clean energy head for an annual record.
As the German government scrambles to prop up Siemens Energy AG, another major European wind firm faces its own moment of truth after warning of billions of euros in writedowns.
Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., the largest wind-turbine maker, said profit plunged as a price war continues to offset some of the benefits of China’s surge in clean energy investment.
The European Union launched a wind power package on Tuesday to counter the growing influence of China and spur its own industry, as the bloc focuses more firmly on China as the biggest threat to its clean-tech industry.
Wind-farm developers are lobbying the UK government to give them more tax breaks in the fall budget, arguing that rising interest rates and supply-chain costs are putting the viability of some new projects in doubt.
The European Union will pledge to prop up its wind industry in the face of toughening global competition, supply-chain bottlenecks and financing concerns to ensure that the bloc can meet ambitious climate and sustainable growth plans.
BP has announced it will name its first floating offshore wind demonstration project in Aberdeen after Scottish medical pioneer and suffragette Dr Flora Murray.
A North Sea drilling industry body has warned the viability of UK renewables projects is at risk unless the UK government changes its policy towards windfall taxes and day rates.
Recently, Energy Voice looked into the widely reported skills shortage in the renewables sector, finding that some believe hydrocarbon workers not going green due to differences in pay.
The levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for utility solar and onshore wind in Asia Pacific were up 16% and 12% respectively since 2020, as equipment, construction costs and interest rates rose in the region. However, China was insulated from the trend.
Renewable energy M&A deal value in Asia Pacific increased by 11% year-on-year to $19 billion in 2022, primarily due to a surge in onshore wind and geothermal merger and acquisition activity.
South Korea will boost nuclear power generation and downgrade its plans for renewable energy as the nation overhauls its electricity mix to meet emissions reduction targets.
Spending on low-carbon projects will increase by $60 billion this year, 10% higher than 2022, led by wind developments, but helped by a significant rise in funding for hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) infrastructure, Rystad Energy research shows.
Billionaire Andrew Forrest agreed to acquire Partners Group Holding AG-backed CWP Renewables Pty for about a A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) valuation, extending a rush of deal-making focused on Australia’s accelerating shift to cleaner energy.
The government of India has kicked off plans for offshore wind by releasing a consultation paper to call for bids to lease 870 square kilometres of seabed area in the power hungry South Asian nation.
India is discussing a plan to keep old power stations running for longer, arguing that they’re needed to meet demand until enough energy storage can be built.
Sri Lanka’s offshore wind resource far exceeds the South Asian nation’s energy demand, and its development could help the country’s economic recovery by displacing costly fuel imports, according to the World Bank.