Europe is betting on the winds and smart technology to reduce energy
Kriegers Flak, which comes out of the Baltic Sea, is more than the largest marine wind garden in Denmark. It is a pioneering energy bridge between Denmark and Germany helps to balance the electricity price and enhance energy security in both countries, in addition to that, a clean alternative to fossil fuel. Since Europe seeks to ensure the future of its capacity, wind farms like Kriegers Flak are called to play an increasingly important role.
“Europe needs more renewable electricity like this,” says Gayls Dixon, General Manager of Windeurope, the sector agency, which represents more than 600 companies. “This means more energy security, which in turn means economic and national security.”
The numbers are ambitious. The European Union wants to increase its capacity on the 200 gigawatts in 2050. It is a tremendous task, which supports rapid technological policies and innovation.
More turbines, more intelligent control
At ESBJerg Port, on the western coast of Denmark, the future is already formed. From here, the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall runs more than 1,200 sea turbines in four countries. The algorithms play an increasingly important role in this digital transition: according to Laura Ortid, who directs the operating control center in Faten Val, automation is crucial to maintaining the growth rate of the number of turbines.
When the turbines become higher and more powerful, ports like Esbjerg are extended to meet logistical demand. The port, which has already hosted 80 % of marine wind facilities in Europe, hosts more lands to accommodate the new generation teams.
“One of the difficulties of the sea wind energy is that it needs a lot Dennis Gul Pedersen, General Manager of the Port Explains. “We are lucky because we are able to develop the port in line with what the industry needs, and we will continue in the very future in the future.”
Maintenance cost challenge
Installing turbines in the sea is not easy or cheap. Specialized ships, such as Wind Osprey, in the leadership of the Danish CADEL company, are essential. With extension legs that reach the sea floor, they create stable platforms to install huge pieces.
“Everything is growing,” says Captain Matthew Christie, of Osbury. “We have just installed a new, longer and more capacity to raise weight, because the tower sections are now higher.”
One day can cost these ships hundreds of thousands of euros. In addition, once the turbines are installed, keeping them in operation is another major challenge.
Turbines suffer from salty water attack and storms. Unlike the Earth, it is difficult to reach: you have to go on a boat or helicopter, and only in good weather. This makes maintenance one of the most expensive parts of the operation, as it represents up to a third of the total cost.
“In fact, the cost of maintenance is a fairly large part of the cost of the total energy settlementSimon Watson, professor of wind energy systems at Delpht Technology University, said, “There is a great interest in reducing it so that the air of the marine wind is more profitable,” said Simon Watson, a professor of wind energy systems at Delpht Technology University.
Save robots?
The sector is increasingly resorting to robots as part of the solution. In Latvia, a company called Aerones has developed a climbing robot that can examine and repair the turbine blades faster – and more safely – than human operators.
These robots can cover the blades and lose them in search of damage, which greatly reduces the time of lethargy and maintains the turbines.
“The largest blades in the world exceed 120 meters,” says Denis Cruz, General Manager of Air. “We improve the speed of robots so that the turbine is stopped much less time while we are doing the mission.”
At the Riga Factory, Aerones already manufactures dozens of these machines every month to meet the demand. Long -term vision? Self -government maintenance robots for each turbine, supervised by technicians instead of manually operating them.
“When robots become more intelligent, we try to apply algorithms to the operator to oversee the agents of artificial intelligence who are doing, and it does not include a lot of transferring robot to the left or right.”
The wind blows in favor of Europe
Despite the challenges, the motivation is strong. The annual Windeurope event in Copenhagen highlights investment, research and international cooperation that strengthens this sector.
By 2030, the European wind industry – Marina and land – is expected to use more than 900,000 people and contribute more than 100,000 euros in the European Union economy.
“Jobs, growth and investment are locally when the wind farms are built and operated“The turbines and all the equipment, including the network, are made,” says Gilers Dixon of Windeurope.
Since Europe is working to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and unstable energy imports, the marine winds quickly become a strategic column. The expansion is not easy, but with innovation and smart investments, the continent transforms its coastal winds into a strong change force.
