Wind energy became the protagonist of these particular times, as it allows many European countries to continue decarbonizing their power systems in a cost-effective way and transform their energy systems.
Today, Europe has reached 236 GW of wind capacity, and this number is expected to increase with the installation of 116 GW of new wind farms from 2022-2026 (23 GW per year on average).
However, European countries were supposed to reach their renewable energy targets for 2020 and start implementing their 2030 National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) towards the 32% renewables target.
Looking at reality, Europe installed only 17 GW of new wind energy capacity in 2021, not even half of what the EU should be building to be on track to deliver its 2030 Climate and Energy goals.
Figure 1 2022-2026 new onshore and offshore wind installations in Europe – WindEurope’s scenarios (WindEurope)
The aforementioned expectations for 2022-26 assume that governments should adopt clearer and more ambitious National Energy & Climate Plans, resolving their current issues involving wind farms building permits and continuing to invest in grid infrastructures.
But again, the present scenario is different from reality.
Total Wind Power Capacity in Europe
The EU-27 has 55% of all the offshore wind capacity in Europe and has recently reached a total capacity of 189 GW. Unfortunately, in 2021, 396 MW of wind power was decommissioned in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, France, the UK and Switzerland due to complex permitting rules and the recent increase in wholesale prices.
Despite this, Germany continues to have the largest installed capacity in Europe, followed by Spain, the UK, France, and Sweden. Seven other countries (Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, Portugal, and Belgium) have more than 5 GW installed each. Ireland, Greece, Norway, Finland, Austria, and Romania have over 3 GW of installed capacity.
But even considering this fragmented and uncertain scenario, driven by the assumptions of a consistent CAPEX for both onshore and offshore plants and variable wind energy production costs, BaxEnergy has demonstrated a strong attitude for innovation and resilience.
How BaxEnergy shapes innovation
Since wind energy production is variable and not always steady, what companies need to exploit its full potential in the next years is a technology able to control the uncontrollable power of nature, optimizing all the parameters which influence the activities to obtain the maximum efficiency of wind turbines and, on a larger scale, of all the renewable assets in a portfolio, independently from the technology or manufacturer.
Energy Studio Pro®, our integrated edge-technology platform, is our answer to those needs. ESP is able to monitor and control energy production, get real-time and historical data from power plants, diagnose production losses and recapture lost yield.
It is an innovative system able to balance peaks or drops in energy demand through the management of all sources of energy connected to the electrical grid (including wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power plants) together with storage facilities (such as battery storage, pumped hydro storage and green hydrogen).
The power output in the grid would be regulated automatically by diverting the excessive energy from renewable power plants into storage facility, and by retrieving it later when needed to fill energy gaps.
Thanks to ESP, asset owners can gain full bidirectional control of their wind power plants they manage in real-time. Furthermore, multiple actions can be configured as part of a specific “remote control scenarios” such as: start/stop; change set point; active and reactive power control; custom operations. Among all the benefits highlighted by our client, this feature allows them to safeguard the local fauna, saving the lives of birds and bats that fly out at sunset heading for the moving blades of the wind turbines.
Thanks to the benefits that our platform provides, we are a consolidated solution in the field of wind energy, already monitoring and controlling some of the biggest wind park in Europe, such as Kafireas’ park in Greece.
ESP, of course, is just one example of the many innovative solutions that BaxEnergy can offer.
Our independent and integrated software platform, based on cloud and AI technologies, work as an intelligent digital brain capable of taking effective decisions on how utilizing energy efficiently. They are able to receive real-time data from any kind of renewable asset, collecting them and sending inputs to the Control Rooms regarding power production, generation units’ status, planned and unplanned maintenance, weather and power forecast, demand level and market price.
Centralized data also helps control assets remotely and maintain activities riskless.
Furthermore, our clients choose us not only for the above mentioned benefits and features that our solutions offer, but also for the support that our team gives to every client, ensuring that the achievement of the set objectives and the completion of the project take place on time and on budget.
Towards a greener future
Wind energy will play a fundamental role in the European energy transition, which is already underway and which, as shown by the data, will see significant growth in the coming years.
It represents also an important investment opportunity for Europe, with the aim of promoting the development of a society capable of living in harmony with the environment, repairing the damage caused in previous generations.
The mission of BaxEnergy is to make renewable energy easier, more efficient, affordable, and secure, contributing to build a greener world for the benefit of present and future generations.
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