Opinion

Expert opinion from industry professionals, with insight into the latest technology, policy and business developments in the fast-moving world of wind.

There is cause for optimism despite the challenges ahead, argues Jean Lewis

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We're undaunted by grid capacity challenges for ScotWind

9 March 2023 by Jean Lewis

Since the exhilarating announcement of the new ScotWind projects in January last year, many in our industry have raised concerns about the grid’s capacity to cope with an additional 27GW of renewable energy installed over the next ten years.

Biden's biggest challenge for the wind roll out could be misinformation, argues Shahid Mahdi (Image credit: Shahid Mahdi and Getty)

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US whale deaths illustrate how wind’s biggest challenge is misinformation

2 March 2023 by Shahid Mahdi

The past few months have been monumental for offshore wind development in the US but creeping misinformation threatens to derail it.

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Europe must protect offshore wind from sabotage as it shifts from Russian energy

It is time to increase measures to prevent espionage and sabotage of offshore wind, argues Stefan Thimm

Envision’s turbine underlines threat to western OEMs' market share outside Europe

Western OEMs are decelerating new product launches just as Chinese turbine firms increase them, writes Shashi Barla

Poland’s seabed auction effectively scuppered by NATO underwater training

Jakub Budzyński unpicks what went wrong in Poland's first seabed auction this year

Floating wind could be profitable in little more than a decade

Speed and being an early adopter is of the essence, argues Arvid Nesse (Image: Norwegian Offshore Wind)

UK ruling in GE-Siemens Gamesa case could impact all offshore wind patents

The UK judge's decision in the patent case cold have major implications for all offshore patents, argues Robbie Gauld

Training won’t bridge offshore wind skills gap alone - we must build competency

Taiwanese local content laws could strangle its nascent offshore wind industry

Taiwan's offshore wind sector has several hurdles to overcome in order to be viable, argues Scott Hsu

Could modularisation and standardisation restore profitability to OEMs?

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Could Mara regulator be a gamechanger for Ireland’s offshore wind?

MARA could unshackle Ireland's offshore wind sector but delays cost investment, warns Elaine Traynor

UK can't afford to waste grid connections for viable wind development

GE’s patent wars with competitors have backfired

When two turbine manufacturers go to war - nobody wins, argues Shashi Barla

Welcome to Schrodinger’s windfall tax on renewables in the UK

The proposed windfall tax on renewables is going to be 'exciting' for investors and generators, warns Adam Bell

UK’s CfD policy risks sabotaging wind investment and hampering turbine firms

The wind industry would benefit from a more nuanced policy than market-wide CfDs, argues Will Sheard

Why Siemens Gamesa's patent win against GE could be bad for offshore wind

A global settlement with cross-licensing would better serve the interests of the wind industry, argues Georgina Ainscow

Are either of the contenders for UK prime minister a friend to the wind industry?

Truss vs Sunak (Pic credit: Getty Images)

Massachusetts’ climate bill is a blueprint for US carbon neutrality

Massachusetts’ new climate bill is a great leap forward, argues Edward Wagner

UK’s latest auction begs the question – are CfDs a boon or a burden to offshore?

The offshore industry is better off in the open market, argues Will Sheard

Distribution of value in the wind industry is broken – it’s time for a new settlement

End the 'arms race' on new turbines and you can win the war on value, argues Ben Hunt

Slow down turbine development to speed up the offshore rollout - Vestas CTO

The offshore wind industry must work together to achieve 2030 deployment targets, argues Anders Nielsen

Lack of female leadership is an uncomfortable truth for the wind industry

Net zero will not be achieved without gender diversity, argues Katie Jackson

How do we close the offshore wind skills gap?

The offshore wind sector needs 70,000 skilled workers but where do we find them, asks Robert Fradley

RepowerEU action plan hits the nail on the head

REPowerEU is a big step in the right direction but there’s more to do, argues Giles Dickson

Proposed SGRE buyout is correct response to wind industry economics

The proposed buyout of SGRE is a step in the right direction for the wind industry, argues Will Sheard

Don’t lose sight of ESG as we streamline EU permitting

Draft plans to cut permitting times should be given a cautious welcome, writes Peter Dickson

UK government's lack of ambition for onshore

Boris Johnson's political gamble on onshore wind may come back to haunt him, warns Lizzy Roberts

The end of wind subsidies is to be welcomed

Bob Psaradellis explores the opportunities for wind in a post-subsidy world

Wind will only reach its full potential with storage

Stop paying for constraint and start investing in storage, says Dave Pell

Opinion: Floating wind needs fresh data to harness potential

Failure to understand data around floating platforms risks the structure, argues Bronwyn Sutton

Opinion: Offshore wind the answer to energy security

Increasing wind power build-out is the obvious solution to energy security and inflaton, argues Joost Bergsma

Opinion: CPPAs are little more than a subsidy for 'big tech'

'Big Tech' companies such as Google are the main beneficiaries of CPPAs, argues Jérôme Guillet (pic credit: Getty)