Wind Power Windpower Monthly

The threat of cyber attacks on the wind industry’s remote control systems for turbines and other equipment is all too real and it is growing by the day, with potentially disastrous consequences for companies which do not understand the dangers they face.
As the industry becomes increasingly reliant on remote systems to control the operations of offshore wind farms, the so-called ‘attack surface’ grows with them. Meanwhile, the energy transition - in which Europe attempts to pivots away from Russian fossil fuels - brings with it a higher likelihood of cyber attacks which originate from state actors.
In the thirteenth episode of the Wind Power podcast - recorded at the WindEurope conference in Copenhagen last month - Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly spoke to three cybersecurity professionals about the nature of the threat and how the wind industry can guard itself against them. 
Boye Tranum, DNV’s director of cybersecurity, Bart Van den Bossche and Tijl Deneut - both cybersecurity experts at Ebo Enterprises - discuss how to assess and counter the threats which face the industry, where responsibility for cybersecurity in companies lies under the new ‘NIS2’ directive, and why people are the weakest link but also the best defence against cyber attacks.
This episode was recorded at the WindEurope Annual Event in Copenhagen and produced by Czarina Deen

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Last year Europe as a whole commissioned 19.1GW of new wind power capacity (16.7GW for EU-27 member states), according to WindEurope, up 4% (40% for the EU-27 states) from the previous year. That takes Europe’s operational wind power capacity past the 250GW mark but still falls well short of what’s needed to hit climate and energy goals.
From the perennial problem of long waits for permits and grid connections through to nimbyism, ever-increasing turbine sizes and the chicken-and-egg situation that is holding the roll-out of wind power back, there are plenty of issues keeping the industry awake at night. But, as the guests on our podcast point out, this is an industry that is willing - and able - to rise to the challenge. 
The technology is there and wind, given the right conditions, can be built at speed.
Matilda Afzelius, CEO for the Nordics at RES, Alexander Fløtre, who heads up offshore wind research at Rystad Energy, Jon Salazar, founder and CEO at Gazelle Wind Power, Joachim Koefoed, who heads up public affairs across Europe for Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Tom Walker, head of onshore wind at Statkraft in the UK, and Eric Jan Bijvank, director Europe & Africa at Fugro join Windpower Monthly editor Claire Warren to discuss some of the challenges - and how we might address them.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was recorded at the WindEurope Annual Event in Copenhagen and produced by Czarina Deen.
Further reading
'EU must restore confidence' as 2022 additions lag climate targets – WindEurope
EU's Net Zero Industry Act 'falls short' of driving 36GW annual wind turbine production – WindEurope


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Speaking ahead of the start of the WindEurope conference in Copenhagen next Tuesday (25 April) Sven Utermöhlen - chair of the trade group and chief executive of offshore wind for RWE - discusses the EU’s package of measures to stimulate the wind industry.
Last month, the European Commission proposed a package of measures which, if enacted, could help boost the fortunes of the wind industry in member states as well as speeding up the roll out of renewable energy.
They include a ‘Net Zero industry act’, which could boost member states’ permitting capacity and reform auction criteria for new wind farms, they also include ‘Electricity market reforms’ which could expand the use of corporate power purchase agreements across the continent, and a ‘critical raw materials act’ which seeks to secure Europe’s supply of the essential components the wind industry needs for future expansion.
In the eleventh episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, talked to Utermöhlen about whether the EU’s package is sufficient to help the industry, how it compares with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) policy in the US policy and where the EU could go further and faster.
The conversation also touched on what skills the wind industry needs now and how to plug the skills gap effectively.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and researched by Craig Richard and Orlando Jenkinson


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Elizabeth Klein, the new chief at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), discusses the route ahead for offshore wind in the US.
Klein was appointed as the new director of BOEM in January and has been a member of Biden’s administration since it took office, initially serving as senior counsellor to US secretary of the interior Deb Haaland.
She has also served two previous presidents and was a key architect of the Obama administration's work to create a new offshore wind industry and leasing programme.
In the tenth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, talked to Klein about minimising conflict with other sea users during the site-selection stage for auctions, the likely impact of Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and whether last year’s offshore wind tender in California underperformed expectations.
Klein was asked whether she thinks a recent spate of whale deaths off the Atlantic coast was being leveraged to galvanise opposition to offshore wind and for her view on how the wind industry should tackle the under representation of women and people from ethnic minorities in senior roles.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen and researched by Craig Richard

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Turbine blades represent up to a third of the cost of a wind turbine but they do not yet benefit from the sophistication of sensor technology which exists in its other components, so are they the poor relation?
The evidence is that, as blades get larger, issues such as leading edge erosion – and its cumulative effect on annual energy production – will get worse and other types of repairs more frequent.
So what does the near future of blade inspections and maintenance look like, how big will they get and what is the effect on public opinion towards wind when turbine blades experience a catastrophic failure?  
Finally, Episode Nine explores whether owner-operators of wind farms and turbine manufacturers can resolve the current stalemate between the need for detailed information to run a wind farm at optimum efficiency on one hand and OEMs protecting commercial sensitivities in a highly competitive marketplace.
Ahead of the return of the Blades USA forum in Texas next month, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, spoke to two of the key speakers from the forthcoming conference: Carsten Westergaard, president of Westergaard Solutions, and Katelyn Reynolds, manager of operations and engineering at owner-operator Invenergy.
To listen, simply click on the 'play' button in the graphic above, or follow and download Wind Power on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen


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Experts from the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, DNV and Bellona discuss green hydrogen’s potential as a component of the renewable energy transition.
Green hydrogen has the potential to decarbonize the industry sectors that will be hardest to electrify in the coming energy transition to a renewables based energy system. But what is the best way to achieve that goal? What obstacles lie in its way? And what is the opportunity/cost of producing it in sufficient quantities?
As ever, there will be hurdles to overcome - from showing leadership in policy choices, to creating a viable market place capable of attracting investors.
In the eighth episode of the Wind Power podcast, Ian Griggs, deputy editor of Windpower Monthly, is joined by Francois Paquet, impact director at the Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, Marta Lovisolo, policy adviser on renewable energy systems at Bellona, Europa, and Magnus Killingland, hydrogen lead for northern Europe at DNV.
This episode was produced by Czarina Deen

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