Parts manufacturers are expected to benefit from wind energy’s presence at AMB from Sept. 18-22, 2012 in Stuttgart. An entire area of the floor and course are being devoted to the growing wind power industry at the International Exhibition for metalworking, with exhibitors looking to market products and services to wind energy companies getting a special trade fair guide to place logos and company names.
Product development such as machinery for larger turbine rotors, carbon fibre reinforced plastics, and parts for the machining tools will have to increase, says Diethard Thomas, head of the Leading metalworking Technologies Academy.
These parts come in addition to the gear components, switches, and grid connections already required.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study says small and medium-sized businesses contribute 90 per cent of the added value of offshore wind power plants. The German government wants to install 25,000 MW of offshore wind power by 2030 and German banking group KfW will invest more than $6.5 billion in such projects.
The German Wind Energy Institute (DEWI) says 895 plants were built in the country in 2011, adding more than 2,000 MW of power to the grid. The German government plans to generate 30 per cent of the country’s energy from renewable sources and with the shutdown of nuclear plants, 3,000 MW of renewable power must be added every year.
DEWI says more than half of 2010’s new wind power was installed in China.
The business is becoming more international for manufacturers and suppliers as shipping costs to China are getting so high it is cheaper to set up shop there, says Christine Nauheimer, wind power account manager for tool manufacturer Hoffmann Group.