European Wind Energy Association
The most powerful wind energy network.
The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) is the voice of the wind industry, actively promoting the utilisation of wind power in Europe and worldwide. It is ideally situated in the Renewable Energy House in Brussels ensuring close proximity to European decision-makers.
It now has over 600 members from nearly 60 countries including manufacturers with a 90% share of the global wind power market, plus component suppliers, research institutes, national wind and renewables associations, developers, contractors, electricity providers, finance and insurance companies and consultants. This combined strength makes EWEA the world’s largest and most powerful wind energy network.
EWEA coordinates international policy, communications, research and analysis and provides various services to support members’ requirements. EWEA also organises high-profile industry events that members can attend at attractive rates.
EWEA analyses, formulates and establishes policy positions for the wind industry on key issues, cooperating with industry and research institutions on a number of market development and technology research projects.
In addition, the lobbying activities undertaken by EWEA help create a suitable legal framework within which members can successfully develop their businesses.
Due to a growing need to raise the wind industry’s profile, EWEA produces a large variety of information tools and manages campaigns aimed at raising awareness about the benefits of wind, dispelling the myths about wind energy and providing easy access to credible information.
EWEA organises numerous conferences, exhibitions, seminars and working groups for the benefit of its members and the industry. The main events are the:
- annual European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC), attracting up to 7,500 participants and 300 exhibiting companies; and
- bi-annual European Offshore Conference, attracting 2,000 participants and 100 exhibiting companies.
These events are widely regarded as the most professional, comprehensive and informative in the wind sector.
EWEA is a founder member of the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) which groups the eight key renewable industry and research associations under one roof, and of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
EWEA’s Vision
Wind energy will be the leading technology in transforming the global energy supply structure towards a truly sustainable energy future based on indigenous, non-polluting and competitive renewable technologies.
EWEA's Strategic Objectives
Through effective communication and its engagement in the political decision-making processes, it is EWEA’s objective to facilitate national and international policies and initiatives that strengthen the development of European and global wind energy markets, infrastructure and technology in order to achieve a more sustainable and cleaner energy future.
To achieve this, EWEA:
- act as a single European voice to promote, through the joint efforts of its members, the best interest of the wind energy sector;
- develop and communicate effective strategic policies and initiatives to influence the political process in a direction that maintains and creates stable markets and overcome barriers to the deployment of wind energy;
- turn the opportunity created by the large turnover in European generating capacity over the next two decades into benefits for the European wind energy sector;
- further develop Europe’s position as a driver for global growth of the wind energy sector in close coordination with national, regional and global organisations and companies;
- communicate the benefits and potential of wind energy to politicians, opinion formers, decision makers, business, the media, the public, NGOs and other stakeholders; and
- act as the central network on wind energy issues for its members and interact with wider constituencies.
Over the coming years, EWEA will prioritise a number of strategic objectives:
1.Ensuring a long-term, stable EU policy framework for wind energy in Europe for the period after 2010 in the form of targets, payment mechanisms, and the removal of administrative and grid-access barriers.
2.Working towards establishing adequate political and regulatory environments for ensuring that existing and new onshore and offshore grid infrastructure is planned, built, upgraded and operated with large-scale wind energy in mind.
3.Communicating wind energy as a popular, mainstream power technology and a key solution to the emerging energy and climate crisis.
4.Promoting a European framework for offshore wind energy.
5.Improving conditions for European wind energy research under FP7 and FP8
6.Ensuring that the EU’s climate change legislative framework recognises the significant role that wind power can play in reducing the EU’s CO2 emissions and, and in close cooperation with GWEC, ensure that the post-Kyoto framework negotiations recognise the significant role that wind power can play in reducing CO2 emissions globally.
Exploring the Benefits of Wind Power
Harnessing the sustainable power of wind is one of the most positive developments created by today’s storm of uncertainty unleashed as a result of escalating oil prices, climate change, environmental degradation, dwindling fossil fuel stocks and dependence on foreign energy supplies. Indeed, the European Union has set a binding target of 20% of its energy supply to come from wind and other renewable sources by 2020. In order to achieve this 20% energy target, more than one-third of the European electrical demand would have to come from renewables, with wind power expected to deliver 12-14%.
Some of the many benefits associated with wind power:
- Economic growth and job creation. In 2008, the value of wind turbines installed in Europe was 11 billion Euros. In 2020, the annual market for wind energy in the EU is expected to reach 17 billion Euros. About 160,000 people in the EU were in wind energy-related employment in 2008. The wind industry could create up to 368,000 new jobs in the EU from 2000 to 2020.[¹]
- Cleaning up the environment. Europe’s 65 gigawatts (GW) of wind power installed by the end of 2008 will annually avoid 108 million tonnes of CO² – the equivalent of taking over 50 million cars off the road. This also translates into an annual avoided CO² cost of about 2.4 billion Euros.
- Energy independence. Europe now imports more than half its energy, a figure that is expected to climb to 70% in the next 20 to 30 years. The European wind industry’s installed capacity of 65 GW is enough to provide power for the equivalent of 35 million average EU households. Wind energy allowed EU nations to avoid paying fuel costs of 5.4 billion Euros last year.
Why Wind Energy?
1. We now live in an era of energy uncertainty. The days of cheap and abundantly available energy are over.
2. Europe is running out of indigenous energy resources in the form of fossil fuels at a time when a paradigm shift in energy prices is occurring. It is clear that this century will be characterised by intensified competition for energy which will inevitably push up prices, lead to periodic scarcity and precipitate a scramble for reserves among the world’s main economic blocks.
3. Europe’s dependency on imported fossil fuel has become a threat to economic stability because of the impact of increased fuel prices on the cost base, most notably on the price of electricity. It is essential that Europe develops its own internal energy resources to the maximum extent possible, as well as promoting energy efficiency.
4. Europe is an energy intensive region heavily reliant on imports; already today, it imports 50% of its energy needs and that share is likely to increase to 70% within two decades unless Europe changes direction. By 2030, oil imports are likely to rise from 76% to 88% and gas imports from 50% to 81%, compared to 2000. Indigenous fossil fuel resources, such as the North Sea, are in rapid decline.
5. Europe is the world leader in renewable energy and in the most promising and mature renewable technology, wind power, it has both a competitive and comparative advantage.
6. Wind energy will not only be able to contribute to securing European energy independence and climate goals in the future, it could also turn a serious energy supply problem into an opportunity for Europe in the form of commercial benefits, technology research, exports and employment.
7. The economic future of Europe can be planned on the basis of electricity costs that are known and predictable, as this electricity is derived from an indigenous energy source free of all the security, political, economic and environmental disadvantages associated with oil and gas.
8. There is an urgent need to address inefficiencies, distortions and historically determined institutional and legal issues related to the overall structure, functioning and development of the broader European electricity markets and power infrastructure.
9. The Commission has concluded that current electricity markets are not competitive for four main reasons: lack of cross-border transmission links; existence of dominant, integrated power companies; biased grid operators; low liquidity in wholesale electricity markets. These four barriers are also the main institutional and structural deficiencies preventing new technologies such as wind power to enter the market.
10. The major issues of wind power integration are related to: changed approaches in operation of the power system, connection requirements for wind power plants to maintain a stable and reliable supply, extension and modification of the grid infrastructure, and influence of wind power on system adequacy and the security of supply.
11. The need for infrastructure investments is not based on wind energy only, consequently, grid extensions, grid reinforcement and increased backup capacity benefit all system users. An integrated approach to future decisions is needed.
12. A large contribution from wind energy to European power generation is feasible in the same order of magnitude as the individual contributions from the conventional technologies.
13. The capacity of European power systems to absorb significant amount of wind power is determined more by economics and regulatory rules than by technical or practical constraints. Already today a penetration of 20% of power from wind is feasible without posing any serious technical or practical problems.
Contact Information
European Wind Energy Association
Rue d'Arlon 63-65
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 546 1940
Fax: +32 2 546 1944
E-mail:
Website: www.ewea.org
Types of Wind Industry jobs
Manufacturing
Turbine R&D
Turbine Design
Turbine Production
Tower Production
Gearbox and Components production
Quality Control
Business Support and Management
Sales & Marketing
Finance & Investment
Human Resources
Public Relations
Legal Assistance
Planning
Environmental Impact assessment
Environmental Monitoring
Planning regulations & Policy
Public/Community Relations
Wind Farm Development
Wind Power Engineer
Wind Farm Development Manager
On-site Construction
Consultation
Civil Engineering
Grid Connection
High Voltage specialist
Project manager
Technical Director
Wind Industry forecasting & Assessment
Wind Farm software (e.g. WAsP, Windfarm, Windpro)
3d modelling software
Wind Resource Analyst
Off-shore specialist
Wind Farm Operations
Turbine Technician (Operations & Maintenance)
Operations Manager
Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition
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