Turbine manufacturer Repower has confirmed its determination to remain a strong player in the north-western European offshore wind market and hinted at plans to develop further models of its 6.15MW offshore turbine.
Speaking to “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç Offshore at the RenewableUK Global Offshore Wind event in London today, Norbert Giese, Repower’s vice-president of offshore development, said his company was very familiar with large-scale projects in challenging waters and felt confident it could "serve the UK and Germany very well".
Giese said it was inevitable that Repower would develop its 6M turbine further, but added there were no firm plans in place. He said the company's growth would be "in line with" the growth of its balance sheet. Repower's parent company, Suzlon, is undergoing some well-publicised financial difficulties at the moment.
The move towards larger turbines and bigger rotors should go hand in hand with efforts to cut costs elsewhere, Giese said. "Contingencies in offshore wind are much bigger than in onshore wind," he said, adding that "they mostly reside around installation".
The industry needs "more projects and more experience of bigger turbines in deeper water", Giese said. He also urged greater standardisation and more co-operation between countries. "At the moment we’re having to train the same people three times in the three markets where we operate," he lamented.
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