From: tgray@igc.apc.org (Tom Gray)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.german
Subject: --Wind's Pace Quickens in Germany
Date: 4 Jan 93 17:38:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1473000066:000:4662
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!tgray    Jan  4 09:38:00 1993


/* Written  7:54 am  Jan  4, 1993 by tgray@igc.apc.org in igc:en.energy */

WIND'S PACE QUICKENS
IN GERMANY
 
German wind development is continuing its rapid growth through 1992
and new capacity additions now rival those of any other country in
the world, including Denmark.
 
According to the German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI) in
Wilhelmshaven, Germany's current installed capacity is 147 MW, up
from about 110 MW at the end of 1991.  By the end of 1992 total
capacity will reach 170 MW, the Institute said.
 
The 60-MW increase during the year will development in the U.S.,
where only 10 MW will be installed this year, and match that of
nearby Denmark, where new additions average about 50-60 MW per
year.  More significantly, the pace of wind construction in Germany
is increasing.  New additions totalled only about 15 MW in 1989,
rising to 40 MW in 1990 and 50 MW in 1991. 
 
Statistics on the growth of the German wind industry are contained
in the August issue of the Institute's magazine.  The Institute,
which is wholly supported by the state government of Niedersachsen,
also reports that total generation should reach 275 million kWh
this year.
 
Two-thirds of the expected power production will come from machines
with individual capacity ratings greater than 200 kW, even though
turbines above that level account for only 30% of the country's 964
wind systems.  In contrast, small machines (less than 80 kW),
comprise 47% of the total yet produce only 10% of the generation. 
According to the DEWI report, wind turbines up to 80 kW in capacity
should generate about 1,310 kWh/kW of installed capacity; turbines
from 80-200 kW, 1,750 kWh/kW; and turbines over 200 kW, 2,189
kWh/kW. 
 
Generation of 2,000 kWh/kW is representative of the performance of
a well-sited wind plant in California.  Better-performing turbines
both in California and on the West Cost of Denmark's Jutland
peninsula can produce up to 3,000 kWh/kW of installed capacity. 
However, average performance both in California and in Denmark
typically falls below 2,000 kWh/kW.
 
The coastal laendler (states) of Niedersachsen, Schleswig-Holstein,
and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern dominate German wind development with
47.8 MW, 73.8 MW, and 3.5 MW installed, respectively. 
Surprisingly, there is nearly 10 MW installed in the densely
populated interior state of Nordrhein-Westfalen.  Growth in the
former East German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has been
particularly rapid, since it has occurred only since the country's
reunification.
 
The average size of new turbines has now reached about 195 kW, said
the Institute report -- more than double that in 1988, when average
capacity of new turbines was less than 100 kW.  According to Anton
Keuper, author of the report, the number of new machines less than
16 meters (52 feet) in diameter has fallen from 100% of the market
in 1986 to only 20% today.  Mid-size machines, ranging from 16
meters to 45 meters (148 feet) in diameter, now dominate the German
market.  Keuper said Dutch manufacturer Lagerweij's 18-meter (59-
foot), 80-kW turbine continues to sell well in Germany, but its
contribution to total capacity is swamped by the larger turbines. 
Machines in the 22-meter to 32-meter (72-foot to 105-foot) range
now dominate with 60% of the market.
 
German manufacturer Enercon accounts for 26.7% of total installed
capacity, followed by HSW, another German firm.  Danish
manufacturers Vestas (13.6%) and Bonus (6.4%) account for much of
the remainder.  Denmark's Micon and Nordtank and Germany's Tacke
each account for slightly less than 6% of the market's capacity.
 
===============================

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has authorized me to offer
an electronic edition of its newsletter, _Wind Energy Weekly_, from
which the above article is excerpted, at no cost.

For those of you who have not previously seen excerpts from back issues
on Usenet or Bitnet, the _Weekly_ reports on the outlook for renewable
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If you would like a free electronic subscription, send me an e-mail
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*******************************************************************
Tom Gray                                 EcoNet/PeaceNet: tgray@igc
Internet/Bitnet: tgray@igc.apc.org            UUCP: uunet!cdp!tgray
Newsgroups: soc.culture.german