Offshore rides the updraft, Vestas CEO’s view and why US wind is coming up trumps – Recharge

It didnt take long for the newly-unveiled biggest beast in the offshore wind jungle to make a big mark in the market.

Within a week of its launch, Siemens Gamesas 15MW machine was being lined up for deployment at the up-to 1.1GW Hai Long 2 project off Taiwan for developers Northland Power and Yushan Energy. The new 14MW giant is also in the frame for the 2.6GW Coastal Virginia project in the US, bringing the worlds biggest turbine to whats set to be Americas most ambitious offshore wind project to date.

The relentless scaling-up of offshore wind was central to another Recharge exclusive this week as we reported how Germanys Aerodyn is taking blades to a new level with a 111-metre design, a full three-metres longer than those on the new Siemens Gamesa SG14-222DD.

As the world recovers from a historic economic shock, green energy pacesetters like Vestas can lead the rebound and make sure the world is ready to face the next crisis climate change.

That was the message from the Danish wind giants CEO Henrik Andersen in an exclusive opinion column for Recharge this week setting out whats at stake as the EU and other policymakers lay their plans for economic stimulus packages.

Vestas itself was yet again confirmed as the wind sectors market leader by another industry study, while the OEMs global reach was underlined by its latest success in Vietnam.

The US wind market has reason to celebrate this week as the federal government confirmed projects will get more time under tax credit incentive programmes to take account of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thats a relief to a industry that was facing big pressures on its supply chains and people although, as a Recharge analysis explained coping better than many sectors of the US economy.

US offshore wind wasnt part of the relief measures but marked its own milestone when construction work began at the first project in US federal waters, with first foundations now installed at Dominion Energy and Orsteds 12MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot site.

On the downside, another US offshore wind plan the Icebreaker project on Lake Erie, Ohio declared itself stunned at a consent decision it claimed could make the long-percolating development unviable.

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Offshore rides the updraft, Vestas CEO's view and why US wind is coming up trumps - Recharge