Poland’s wind energy market has good potential onshore:
06.07.2010
offshore to be developed from about 2018
HUSUM WindEnergy 2010 - at Husum Fair site from 21 to 25 September2 July 2010 Poland will grow fast in the European wind energy market, according to the high expectations of the industry. Poland enjoys a substantial onshore wind potential, and especially the coastal Northern part of the country is blessed with high mean wind speeds. The most favourable wind conditions occur at Uznam Island, the Baltic Coast from Swinouscie to Gdansk, the Kaszubskie coastline and in the North East (Suwalszczyzna). On the other hand, there are problems in many areas that have still not been resolved, concerning connection of wind farms to the grid and strict regulations for protection of the landscape, creating obstacles and difficulties in project development. Nevertheless, Poland is a worthwhile future market for many of the exhibitors at HUSUM WindEnergy, the meeting place of the international wind energy industry from 21 to 25 September.
New installations in 2009 amounted to 322 MW, bringing the total up to 865 MW. The Polish Wind Energy Association Market published a new report in January, entitled “Wind power development in Poland – a vision”, forecasting that the pace of new turbine installations will accelerate from 920 in 2010 to 5000 MW in 2015, and to approximately 13 GW in 2020. This number is subdivided into onshore wind (11 GW), 1.5 GW offshore wind farms, and 600 MW for small domestic wind turbines. Offshore wind power will start contributing to this cumulative goal from 2018 (500 MW), with further 500 MW additions planned for both 2019 and 2020.
As a main result of this ambitious future scenario, the share of wind power in the country’s electricity production has to accelerate to 17% in 2020 and almost 29% by 2030. Simultaneously, employment in the emerging Polish wind sector is forecast to grow from a modest 2,000 full job equivalents in 2008 to 66,000 jobs by 2020.
Gdansk based Aluship Technology will be one of Poland’s exhibitors at Husum WindEnergy 2010. Being a leading supplier of aluminium and steel mega-yacht constructions, Aluship also specializes in manufacturing large structural elements in its modern automated facilities with robotized manufacturing.
A second Polish exhibitor is Odlewnia ELZAMECH of Elbag, a specialised metal foundry that produces spherical and grey cast iron main components for a range of industrial applications including the wind industry. The wind industry portfolio comprises machined components as a first preference, currently hubs up to 12 tonnes mass, maximum 13-tonne main chassis castings, and large diameter cast main bearing housings. Spokesperson Angelika Graczyk added on ELZAMECH future wind industry involvement: “Currently we are making a major investment into a new induction furnace, which once operational in 2012 boosts our casting size capability to a maximum 20-tonne component mass.”
Warsaw based EcoSolar manufactures a SkyWind wind turbine product portfolio between 3.2 and 6.0 kW power rating. Company co-owner/director Dorota Półtorak said that EcoSolar is the only Polish manufacturer and worldwide exporter in this small and micro wind turbine range: “The track record is now over 90 turbines mainly comprising the SkyWind 3200 and SkyWind 6000, being our two main volume models. During Husum WindEnergy 2010 we will introduce a smaller 1 kW sister model.” Depending on conditions and client wishes, SkyWind turbines can either be delivered as an off-grid 12V/24V battery system, or alternatively a grid connected version with converter. A third rather different application option is water heating, described by Półtorak as the most cost-effective power generating solution.
Husum exhibitor EUROS Entwicklungsgesellschaft of Germany was founded in 1996 in Berlin as a rotor blades development and optimizing office with a focus on wind turbines above 600 kW power rating. In 1999 a rotor blade production site was founded in Poland Żory-Warszowice. A second Polish facility in Ustroń is dedicated to rotor blade testing up to 60m in length, and flexible production of among others prototypes.
In the course of 2009, major equipment suppliers and Husum exhibitors Gamesa, Vestas, Siemens, REpower, Nordex, and Führländer all erected new installations in the country, subdivided into five major wind farms. The largest Polish wind farm (120 MW) was built with Gamesa turbines. Direct drive wind turbine suppliers active in Poland include for instance Enercon of Germany and the South Korean business conglomerate STX Group. Finally, realizing the Polish wind potential, several international wind farm developers are now active in the country. One of these is Juwi of Germany, which opened a Polish office in Kraków in September 2009.
HUSUM WindEnergy 2010 – the leading trade fair for the international wind industry – is organised in cooperation between Messe Husum and Hamburg Messe. More than 950 companies from at least 30 countries will present their products and services in Husum from 21 to 25 September, including the world’s wind turbine manufacturers and their equipment suppliers. The whole of this dedicated wind energy fair will be the international meeting point and forum for companies and trade visitors. For further information, please visit the website www.husumwindenergy.com
Press contact:
Gudrun Blickle, Tel.: +49 40-3569-2442,
gudrun.blickle@hamburg-messe.de
Klaus Lorenz, Tel.: +49 2182-578780,
presse@messehusum.de
