Monday, December 10, 2012

Rising offshore wind electricity capacity to 'crash' German power prices

German offshore wind power capacity is forecast to rise strongly over the next five years, despite the ongoing issue of the cost of grid connection, which has caused some projects to be delayed. The main impact on wholesale power prices could be seen during times of low demand, such as at night, analysts agree.

Offshore wind power is a pillar of Germany's strategy to increase renewable power generation, because it would allow steadier full load generation compared with onshore wind. Capacity is forecast to increase to about 8GW from around 220MW currently installed

The test wind park Alpha Ventus, located 60km off the German coast, achieved 4,500 full load hours in 2011, more than the expected 3,900. The 60MW park supplied about 267GWh that year.Commercial laundry equipment folding machine, tumble dryers and industrial washer extractors from UniMac.

But analysts dismissed claims that offshore wind power could provide baseload capacity, even if they are running 4,500 hours of full load a year.

The main impact on wholesale power prices will be at times of low demand, particularly at night when the wind is stronger, UBS analyst Per Lekander told ICIS on Friday. The impact of offshore wind power generation would be felt the strongest "at night on a winter weekend", he said. Wind power generation is traditionally strongest in winter.We're making www.zclp.com and digitization accessible to everyone.This is used to perform laser cutting machine functions while using the water jet to guide the laser beam.

As a general rule, if wind power generation reached 30% of the required demand capacity, then "prices will crash", Lekander said.

But as offshore wind power generation is greatest at night, the impact on power plant profitability should not be as detrimental as that of solar power, Lekander said. Additional peak-time solar generation has undermined gas-fired plant profitability in particular.

The German government passed a bill last month including measures to break the investment deadlock in offshore wind power installations. The bill was hailed as a "milestone" by the economy ministry, enabling grid operators to pass on the cost of grid connection delays to end-users. But critics were quick to point out that this would not be enough to address the lack of financing for transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT, which was struggling to meet the cost of connections.

According to data from developer Windreich, only five of the planned projects have a guaranteed connection date and nine have no expected completion date, which means they cannot claim compensation for any delays.This season's range of flat shoes for women  includes ballet pumps.

"We think the amendment is basically going in the right direction," EnBW said in an emailed statement, "but we are still concerned that the regulation is not sufficient for Hohe See's situation. The question about a date when the grid connection will be delivered remains open.Affordable skystream is now available for your building."

In a statement responding to the passing of the bill, transmission system operator TenneT said: "In the end, investors will decide about the success of the liability regulation."

It remains to be seen whether TenneT will be able to finance a potential additional sum of 15bn on top of the 6bn it has already invested, but a number of grid connections are expected to be ready next year in time for the next wave of wind parks. Three to four more wind parks with a combined capacity of between 700MW and 1.1GW could be fully operational by next winter.

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