WindEurope 2019 – Hot topics to pay attention to

There are 7 days to go before the start of the benchmark wind power fair in Europe, WindEurope 2019, and the main manufacturers are already warming up their engines for the great showcase that this event represents. Moreover, this year it will be held for the first time in Spain, at the BEC in Bilbao. Faced with such a select occasion, I have not been able to avoid making my forecasts of what will be announced during the fair. Let’s go there with the WindEurope 2019 betting game:

 

1) Vestas: 2 months ago it announced its new platform EnVentus with models V150-5.6MW and V162-5.6MW so it is not likely that there will be new announcements of new models.

Bet: Reinforce the EnVentus launch with perhaps some new product option such as very high tower or low temperature pack.

 

2) SiemensGamesa: as already mentioned, SiemensGamesa plays this WindEurope as local. This means that it has to do the rest to lead the fair in all aspects. That’s why I expect some important product announcement…and what product? Let’s take a look at the latest market announcements:

It is easy to see that SiemensGamesa is not present in the rotor segment around 160m for class III winds while its big competitors already have product.

Bet: announcement by all high platform >5MW with rotor around 160m for low winds.

 

3) GE: With the recent announcement of the launch of its Cypress 5.3MW 158m rotor prototype, GE has taken the lead in product development, where it had not been for a long time. During the fair, GE will surely exploit this privileged position by relying on this prototype.

Bet: Here I dare even more and bet on a giant screen with continuous connection to the prototype, with its live production data. It is also possible that I will announce another rotor on the platform, since with LM on board, the blade developments will certainly be more agile (or at least there will be more visibility of future plans).

 

4) Enercon:  I am very curious to see the Enercon stand after its change of product strategy. The latest launches confirm the lines of its new product policy:

  1. The new products are based on the Lagerway platform
  2. They abandon the strategy of high wind models with “short” rotors and launch themselves into the class III segment with large rotors.
  3. They have also incorporated the message of cost optimisation, a novelty as Enercon has always focused on technology, high CAPEX and competitive TCO powers.

 Bet: I don’t think there will be new advertisements but I’m sure they reinforce the new lines of communication, so we’ll see a stand more like Lagerway than like Enercon.

 

5) NordexAcciona: The recent announcements of its new Delta4000 platform with 149 rotor and variable nominal power between 4 and 4.5 MW ensure juicy content on the stand. In fact, a new variant of the same rotor was announced today but with an uprate of up to 5.X MW. We will see if there are more details on the stand although this last announcement seems more like a measure to counteract the financial news of the group.

Bet: NordexAcciona will also try not to go unnoticed so close to one of its sites. Delta4000 will undoubtedly be the protagonist of the stand but I’m afraid there will be no more details of the new N149 5.X or announcement of new rotor class III.

 

6) Other points of interest

  1. Iberdrola: is probably the company that has probably done more to bring WindEurope to Bilbao so you want to show muscle. We will have to pay attention to its messages related to storage and hybrid systems as well as to its “Iberdola Virtual experience”.
  2. Modular blades: this will probably be one of the hot spots of the fair. With 160m onshore rotors, the choice of modular solutions is almost a necessity. We will pay attention to the novelties of Nabrawind, LM and TPI.
  3. Hybrid systems/storage: another hot topic as solar PV is integrating storage very quickly and wind should not be left behind in incorporating storage solutions as an optional extra to the installation. It will be necessary to pay attention to utilities such as Iberdrola, Engie and manufacturers such as Enercon, GE or SiemensGamesa.

 

At a time when demand in Europe is stagnating, this fair should further strengthen European companies as engines of wind innovation and set the future lines of a sector that is beginning to be mature but can not lose the ability to reinvent itself if it wants to compete with other renewable sources.