Cold climate wind power capacity to surge to 50 GW by 2017 - study

May 29, 2013 - Wind turbines installed in cold climates will reach a combined capacity of 45 GW to 50 GW by 2017, jumping by up to 72% on 2012 figures, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland projects.

Investments in the sector during the five-year period will amount to some EUR 75 billion (USD 96bn), the centre says in a study. Research Scientist Tomas Wallenius noted that the market potential of cold climate wind power is over 10 times bigger than that of offshore wind. The key regions are Scandinavia and Canada, but also parts of China, the US and Central Europe.

Despite positive conditions such as sparse population and good wind conditions, cold climate wind projects still face one significant challenge -- icing. Turbine blades are highly susceptible to icing, which may reduce output by 3% to 10% a year. VTT’s research has already identified increased demand for anti-icing solutions. The Technical Research Centre pointed out that the issue could be solved with good engineering and “in a financially viable manner”.

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