Kristian Petrick Renewable Energy Policy Advisor on behalf of Airborne Wind Europe
C. Sant Honorat 32, 2-A 08870 Sitges (Barcelona)
Spain
petrick@airbornewindeurope.org www.airbornewindeurope.org
AWE Policy Initiative – Preparing the Grounds for AWE-Specific Support Schemes
Kristian Petrick1, Udo Zillmann1, Roland Schmehl2, Stefan Wilhelm3, 1Airborne Wind Europe
2Delft University of Technology 3Ampyx Power B.V.
Several AWE systems are at the brink of commercializa-tion. While some companies claim that their systems will soon be able to compete with wholesale market prices (Kitemill, Makani Power), others target specific entry mar-kets, e.g. re-powering of first-generation offshore wind farms (Ampyx Power, Kite Power Solutions) or off-grid ap-plications (Enerkite, Twingtec, Kitepower).
However, the actual costs of electricity have not yet been proven and niche markets are either limited in size or pose other potential problems (e.g. higher investment risks in developing countries). To reach market readiness, the so-called “valley of deathž needs to be crossed where high amounts of capital are required [1].
How can investors be convinced that AWE technologies will provide a reasonably secure return on investment? AWE systems will require policy support through spe-cific incentive schemes. AWE technologies are not yet mature enough to be able to participate in competitive tenders with conventional wind power. AWE-specific market push and pull-policies like grants or revenue sup-port would reduce the risk for investors and thus unlock capital. Incentives may differ by AWE system, like power class, legal classification (e.g. aircraft vs. obstacle), or by market and application (permanently grid-connected utility scale, micro-grid, temporary).
It seems that the AWE sector itself is not yet sufficiently aware that support policies are required ś so far, the focus has been mainly on technological, regulatory and certi-fication issues. Therefore the AWE Policy Initiative has been formed as part of the Airborne Wind Europe
net-work. It aims to achieve AWE-specific support schemes in Europe to accelerate the large-scale deployment of AWE systems.
The planned activities of the initiative include:
• Scoping: Initial desk research on applicable legisla-tion; interviews with companies and policy makers about needs and pre-requisites.
• Research and lessons learned from other RE technolo-gies: provide justification for specific incentives; as-sess support schemes regarding usefulness, political support, ease and timing of implementation; define in-terdependencies with non-technological barriers like standardization and certification.
• Policy recommendations: propose range for potential support levels and cost reduction plans; develop a Eu-ropean policy road map up to 2030; develop a common position of AWE industry regarding policies.
• Communication, advocacy and capacity building: ad-vocate at European and national level; provide capac-ity building to AWE stakeholders on policy issues; build network of policy experts within AWE sector. At AWEC 2017 the findings of the initial Scoping Exercise will be presented.
References:
[1] IEA-RETD (2014), Accelerating the commercialisation of emerg-ing renewable energy technologies (REInnovationChain), Utrecht, 2014.
