Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 46 2022

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Report – most nations behind

on offshore wind goals

ASIA A new report from Renewables Consulting falling behind. Planning and obtaining approvals
Group (RCG) finds that of the 15 countries with for offshore wind consent take four to five years
specified offshore wind goals for 2030, 80% will on average – and regulatory bodies should inves-
miss the mark. The report was released at COP27 tigate shortening their consenting processes
in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. if they are to deliver the significant expansions
The same report finds that several developed needed to stave off climate change, says RCG.
and emerging markets are also falling behind Macroeconomic factors are also challenging
their stated net-zero climate ambitions. as offshore wind faces serious cost inflation due
Only Vietnam, Poland and Denmark are set to raw materials shortages and price increases.
to meet or exceed their 2030 offshore wind tar- Offshore wind remains competitive, but RCG
gets, the report says. warns that these increasing capital costs may
The International Renewable Energy Agency continue to undermine net zero goals and
(IRENA) has predicted that the world will need targets.
an installed global capacity of 270 GW of off- This comes as nine countries – Belgium,
shore wind by 2030, and 2,000 GW by 2050 to Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Nether-
meet Paris Agreement targets of no more than a lands, Norway, the UK and the US – have joined
1.5-degree Celsius temperature range. an international alliance to develop more off-
This would require the equivalent of the shore wind. It aims to lift the barriers on devel-
installation of the current global capacity every oping more of the energy source.
year until 2030 and then installation of 2.5 times The Global Offshore Wind Alliance initiative,
that amount – 86.5 GW per year – for each of the initiated by IRENA, the Global Wind Energy
following 20 years. RCG data indicates that the Council (GWEC) and Denmark, was unveiled
2030 target will be missed by 7%. at COP27.™
According to RCG’s report, planning
approval is one of the reasons why countries are

Siemens posts huge loss

GLOBAL THE world’s third-largest wind turbine maker expand profit margins in the medium term at
Siemens Gamesa reported a net loss of €940mn Siemens Gamesa.
($973mn) in the 2022 fiscal year ended Septem- Among other factors, at the time Siemens
ber 30. For the same period a year ago, the loss Gamesa said its profits and revenue were ham-
was €627mn. pered by “volatile market dynamics and by the
The Spanish-German firm – which is traded challenges posed by the ramp-up of the Siemens
in Madrid – took in revenues of €9.8bn in the Gamesa 5.X platform, which was more complex
fiscal year ended September 30, down 3.8% from than initially envisaged”.
a year earlier. Eickholt, commenting on the 2022 fiscal year,
Siemens Gamesa and other Western manu- continued: “With the launch of the Mistral pro-
facturers of wind turbines are facing commodi- gramme [in January 2023], we have set the stage
ties inflation – such as for steel – as well as labour to deliver profitable growth and achieve our
and transport cost increases, geopolitical dis- long-term vision. Before we get there, we have
ruptions because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and a transition year ahead of us, still impacted by
supply chain disruptions because of Covid-19. elevated inflation, supply chain disruptions and
Jochen Eickholt, the company’s CEO, said geopolitical risks.
that the 2023 fiscal year would also be tough, and “This is affecting the entire wind industry and
a “transition year” before returning to profitable could jeopardise the energy transition – unless
growth. there is a clear commitment from policymakers
In May, majority stakeholder Siemens Energy and authorities to treat the industry as having
had unveiled a €4.05bn cash bid for minority the greatest strategic importance, because we are
holdings in its struggling wind turbine division. indispensable to society and a crucial pillar of the
The plan has been approved by regulators. It had future energy system.”™
also launched a restructuring plan, Mistral, to

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