IEA website offering information on wind energy development

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is launching a website offering information on wind energy development in cold climates. The site will target wind projects proposed or operated in temperatures lower than 20 degrees Celsius and projects that suffer icing problems. "The Arctic wind power market is considered to have quite a large potential, but detailed assessment is still missing," says Hannele Holttinen, a wind energy research scientist with Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus, the technical research centre of Finland. "This is partly due to insufficient information on icing frequency and the severity of icing incidents." Holttinen says substantial production losses can occur due to ice-related factors. Safety aspects, including ice throw, can also be the deciding factor for introducing ice prevention systems. The website project is part of an IEA wind power research and development program, with participation by research institutes in all the Scandinavian countries, as well as Switzerland, the US and Canada.