Hamburg 2016: Economics driving change says Krogsgaard

GERMANY: Economics has taken over from policy to drive change in the renewables sector, according to Nordex CEO Lars Bondo Krogsgaard.

WindEurope's event ambassadors from Enercon, Nordex, Dong Energy and Enel Green Power in the opening session

Krogsgaard was speaking during a panel session at the opening of the WindEurope Summit, currently taking place alongside the WindEnergy Hamburg exhibition.

The Nordex chief said economics, and in particular scale, was the key driver for expanding global wind energy capacity.

"We made an acquisition in order to be bigger in the industry," Krogsgaard told delegates in the northern German city.

Nordex completed the acquisition of manufacturer Acciona Wind Power from the Spanish firm's parent company earlier this year.

Also on the panel was Dong Energy's chief strategy officer Martin Neuber, Enercon managing director Hans-Dieter Kettwig and Enel Green Power CEO Francesco Venturini.

Enel's Venturini said: "We need to align the speed of policy making with the speed of the industry. Policy-making is part of the game."

Neuber pointed out that offshore wind costs had fallen 50% in three years, following Dong's €72.70/MWh winning bid to build the 700MW Borssele offshore projects in the Netherlands. "It is just the beginning," Neuber said, adding it is only "a matter of time" before offshore wind becomes cost competitive.

Krogsgaard also told delegates that onshore wind prices will fall to €50/MWh by 2020. "We will be doing that, and we have to do that" because of the pressure from falling solar costs, he said.

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