Europe
by Sean Milmo
European Correspondent
milmocw@rodmanmedia.com
Europe is emerging as a world center for the development of coatings and other materials for offshore wind turbines,
which potentially could be a much more cost-competitive and efficient source of renewable
energy than their onshore counterparts. But the
coatings will have to be much more intricate.
The vast majority of wind turbine capacity
throughout the world is on land, with only approximately two percent being offshore.
Much of this offshore capacity – over 90
percent – is in Europe where the driving force
behind the growth in wind energy investment is
an European Union regulation which requires
20 percent of the EU’s energy to come from renewables by 2020.
The advantage of offshore locations, particularly in northern Europe, is that they have
strong, persistent winds throughout most of the
year so that they are able to match the energy
performance of conventional power stations fueled by gas or coal.
However, the offshore wind turbines also require coatings able to withstand enormous stress
such as the massive impact of rain and hail drops
The current
trend is the
development of
larger offshore
turbines with a
higher energy
output so that
the coatings,
particularly those
on the blades,
have to be even
more resilient.
Europe Eyes Coatings for Offshore
Wind Turbines as Growth Opportunity
