Q&A: Wind Energy Exec Says Composite Blades Need to Be Lighter

Christian Kjaer is the CEO of European Wind Energy Association

Christian Kjaer began his career in wind energy in 1998 as an economist with the Danish Wind Energy Association. With a masters in international finance and economics, Kjaer quickly moved up the ranks. After four years he became the policy director over lobbying for the 27-year old European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the CEO in 2006.

In your opinion, what would help the composites industry evolve with the wind energy market?

The composites industry is fundamental to how wind energy technology develops. It already has been. The advances in the past 25 years wouldn’t have been possible without composites. The limiting factor for turbines at the moment is how long the blades can be due to weight issues. We need lighter materials to make longer blades. The upscale needs to continue. We need lighter, longer, more durable blades both onshore and offshore in order to continue forward.

How big is the European wind energy market?

It is about 8,500 MW per year (as of 2008), which equates to 1/3 of the global market. In terms of total capacity, Europe is 60 percent. However, North America and Asia (mainly China and India) are growing rapidly at about 30-40 percent over the past 3 years. The market in Europe doesn’t have that high of a growth rate, but that is because we are starting at a higher level. Of all new energy-generating capacity, 36 percent comes from wind power.

What does your research reveal about attitudes toward renewable energy?

Attitudes have changed a lot even in last two years, both globally and within the EU. Globally, the issue of climate and renewable energy has moved to the top of the political realm. You hear Obama and other politicians talking about it, and it’s really high on their agendas for a few reasons. First, in terms of renewable energy, wind energy is the cheapest of the technologies. Second, it can be installed quite quickly. Lastly, climate change is a big issue because of the increase in oil and gas, especially natural gas.

What key issues affect the wind energy market?

Energy is politically-driven so there has been a monopoly for hundreds of years as a lot of interests would prefer it was not liberalized. So somewhere a myth formed that wind energy is very expensive, but that’s not true. I compare wind energy to the mobile phone market; it is growing quickly and impacts a lot of old players. There are those that will try to hamper its growth and others that will embrace it.

What obstacles does the wind energy market face?

When you start getting large amounts of energy from a new technology, you need to make the necessary adjustments to power grids. In order for the EU to meet the new 2020 agreement, one of the most important factors will be to upgrade the existing power grids and make investments for the future. However, this isn’t just a problem within the EU; it’s a problem all over the world. If we want wind energy to meet energy needs, we need to prepare ahead of time.

What does this signify for your members?

Energy security is a big issue; if we want to stop importing energy, then we need to find something else. For example, within the EU, 27 members agreed to a binding target of generating at least 20 percent of their country’s energy via renewable energy by 2020. That means for electricity alone, 34 percent must be generated by renewable energy—that’s a 19 percent increase.

How will the target be implemented?

This new initiative will replace a law we have had in effect since 2001 when there were only 15 member countries. Now that 27 member countries have signed on, the next step is to develop plans on how to reach the target and connect renewable energy with infrastructure. One of the most important elements is that it’s not only about the 2020 target. If that were the case there would be a risk of people waiting until 2019. This program replaces the 2001 law and sets smaller targets every two years.

Do you see any problem in reaching the goal?

Hitting targets will be somewhat of a challenge. In order for wind energy (and renewable energy in general) to meet the 2020 requirements, we have to increase the amount of energy created by an average of 9.5 gigawatts (GW) per year. However, considering that we have done it by 8 GW, we hope 9 GW will not be a problem. We hope to go higher than that, around 14-16 GW per year.

Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Melinda Skea

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