Huge swathes of the global population are confined to their homes, stock markets are in free fall, oil prices have plummeted.
The knock-on economic and commercial effects on generators and developers in all energy sectors, including wind, can only be subject of speculation, however informed, at this stage. There is absolutely no certainty.
This issue of “uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç was produced in the extraordinary circumstances that so many people are now experiencing: working entirely remotely.
This applied not only to the permanent editorial staff based in London, but our global network of correspondents — some of whom have been locked down for several weeks.
The issue is a little thinner than usual, but would not have been possible to produce at all without a huge degree of professionalism and commitment from everyone involved.
The Covid-19 pandemic will inevitably be the prism through which much of the wind-power industry's news and developments are reported in the coming weeks and months.
We will not be ignoring wind’s other big stories, though.
This issue looks at the industry’s leading turbine manufacturers, which shows some significant place changes over the past couple of years.
The size of the Chinese market, and the rapidly improving technology being deployed by its domestic OEMs, is pushing longer-established western OEMs down the pecking order.
We have also looked into Greece’s revival as a fruitful wind-energy market, explored the implications of the UK government’s U-turn on onshore wind, and introduced a new column reporting on wind’s growing place in hybrid projects and hydrogen production.
Time to call no-show
Social-distancing regimes spell the curtailment of the industry’s big shows and conferences for the forseeable future.
The US’s Cleanpower event, scheduled for early June in Denver, Colorado — and usually a key meeting ground for wind’s biggest players — was still open for business as this issue went to press.
We admire the organisers’ optimism, but it looks misplaced.
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