EWEA annual conference highlights Transmission and R&D issues that must be addressed.

01-June-2007.
At this year's European Wind Energy Conference in Milan the industry forecast that installed wind energy capacity in Europe could reach 180GW (and generate 13-16% of EU electricity consumption) by 2020.

However for this target to be met the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) noted that, amongst other things, "Simplified grid access, grid reinforcement and increased interconnection are crucial preconditions for large scale deployment of wind energy."

EWEA notes that existing guidelines for Trans-European Energy networks - the [TEN-E guidelines - could provide a useful framework for planning and upgrading the European grid infrastructure with integration for renewable energy sources in mind.

Delegates at the conference also heard that innovation is a key element for ensuring continued development of the wind energy industry "The R&D component of the wind energy sector is insufficiently recognized by the public authorities at national and EU level."

Link to EWEA statement [details »]