Asia Pacific Offshore Wind Market Outlook
According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Asia is set to grow its offshore wind significantly over the next decade and beyond. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) estimates that by 2050, Asia will be a global leader in wind power and will account for over 60% of all offshore wind capacity installed globally.
By 2030, GWEC expects the Asian offshore market to have installed nearly 100 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity. Alfred Lee, President of Industrial Asia Pacific Schaeffler also reinforced that “The offshore market is primed to take off in Asia Pacific, with markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and India set to accelerate all the way up till 2030.”
As the offshore wind market becomes more diversified, more companies are increasingly pursuing large-scale offshore wind projects, some of which may involve challenges and risks, including commercial requirements from authorities, difficult project economics, and others, facing unique requirements to build or bolster capabilities.
Challenges in implementing offshore wind power
COSTLY ELECTRICITY SOURCE
Wind energy projects can cost anywhere between US$1.4million for an 800-kilowatt (KW) project and up to US$4.2million for a 3.5-megawatt (MW) project for the wind turbines, environmental works prior to commissioning, the distribution grid set-up and transportation to the project site. Due to the capital-intensive nature of the investment, there is a lack of public fund availability to support this expensive proposition for most Asia Pacific countries.
LACK OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
The failure to instill a clear regulatory framework that addresses the proper use of land, commercial requirements, and subsequent environmental impact will slow down energy transformation and renewable energy development.
LACK OF PROPER COORDINATION
Amongst the government agencies and the private sectors, there is no proper coordination in terms of highlighting the key policy actions needed and educating policymakers about the socioeconomic benefits of building out a local wind power industry.
Given the broad challenges for offshore wind energy projects in Asia Pacific, there is considerable room for growth that could significantly boost the global push for renewable energy.
Strategies to promote profitable growth for wind energy
EXPANSION OF INCENTIVES
With the high demand and rapid expansion of offshore wind energy projects, the government needs to provide more subsidies to businesses. Diversified infrastructure funding and incentives such as preferential tax rates, land rental exemption, and attractive feed-in tariffs for the developers will help to reduce costs and attract investors, thus increasing overall efficiency and reliability of wind turbines.
IMPROVE REGULATORY PROCESS
A clear and strong political will of distinctive targets and long-term policy framework must be affirmed to accelerate the energy transformation and scale up renewable energy to significantly higher levels. The regulatory framework needs to address guidelines such as the procedures to be followed, and the criteria needed to make permitting decisions. This aids in regulating the use of land and mitigating the environmental impact.
ENHANCE GOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION
To better unlock the potential of wind power in Asia Pacific, a strong alliance of the private sectors advocating the benefits of wind power through dialogue with government agencies and other key stakeholders is needed. Proper coordination also includes delivering greater government awareness of policy needs in the offshore wind sectors and working together on capacity building, to create an environment for thriving local wind industry.
While much has been said about the prospects of wind energy in Southeast Asia, a more realistic scenario is for each country to pick a mix of renewable energy sources combined with grid infrastructure reinforcements and technological innovation that keep pace with their energy needs, geographical strengths, and cost concerns.
Schaeffler as a Global Player in Wind Power
With the growing need for a more sustainable economy, Schaeffler supports the increased generation of energy from renewable sources as a partner for the energy industry by offering comprehensive technological and application engineering expertise for complete systems from sources precisely matched to one another. Recent developments like the split asymmetric spherical roller bearings, mainly used as rotor supports in many wind turbines around the world, can help to extend the operational runtimes of existing wind turbines economically, with a good 50% reduction in repair costs.
On the other hand, while modern high-performance wind turbine gearboxes operate with numerous planets to cater to constantly increasing torques, Schaeffler takes it up a notch and further solidifies its leading position in the market with its advanced hydrodynamic plain bearings that make the increase in power density possible even in extremely small installation spaces. The bearing design, based on a comprehensive system approach, features additive manufacturing of the bronze sliding layer bounded by chemical bonding to ensure a decade-long operating time.
For companies looking to improve their carbon footprint, Schaeffler’s reliable tapered roller bearings for rotor shafts are integrated with seamless induction hardening, which uses green electricity to heat up the bearing rings, offering optimal carbon footprint. In a tapered roller bearing demonstration shown at WindEnergy Hamburg 2022, the carbon footprint was reduced by a total of approximately 70% - from about 5.0 kg CO₂/kg bearing to 1.5 kg CO₂/kg bearing.
With their continuous outstanding innovations and commitment to renewable energies, Schaeffler emerged as one of the winners at the Wind Future Awards 2022, bagging away an award under the category “Smart Technology Innovation of the Year ” for Split Asymmetric Spherical Roller Bearing, which recognises outstanding products and business performance for wind energy use. In 2021, Schaeffler’s PREMESY, an innovative digital preload measuring system first-of-its-kind in the market, also received industry recognition even ahead of its market launch by clinching an award under the same category “Smart Technology Innovation of the Year” at the Wind Future Awards 2021.
These awards and achievements notably reaffirm Schaeffler’s goals of creating and enabling an innovative yet sustainable green future – offering the right solution for every bearing position in wind turbines to support partners during the energy revolution path.
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