Wind Energy Project Finance models

What is wind energy?

Wind energy, or wind power, refers to the process of generating electricity using either the wind or air flows that occur naturally in our atmosphere. This can be done by using wind turbines to capture kinetic energy from the wind.

There are three main types of wind energy:

• Utility-scale wind, which uses turbines from 100 kilowatts to several megawatts. The electricity is delivered to the power grid and distributed to the end user.

• Distributed or “small wind”, which refers to the use of single small wind turbines below 100 kilowatts. This is use to directly power a home, farm or small business and is not connected to the power grid.

• Offshore wind is when the turbines are erected in large bodies of water. They are much bigger than turbines on land and generate a lot more power.

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies, mainly because costs are falling. Global installed wind-generation capacity onshore and offshore has increased by a factor of almost 75 in the past two decades, jumping from 7.5 gigawatts (GW) in 1997 to some 564 GW by 2018. Production of wind electricity doubled between 2009 and 2013, and in 2016 wind energy accounted for 16% of the electricity generated by renewables. Many parts of the world have strong wind speeds, but the best locations for generating wind power are sometimes remote ones. Offshore wind power offers tremendous potential.

You can learn more about what wind energy is here and here.

Wind Energy Project finance

The cost of wind energy has decreased over past decades, yet the technology does require quite a high initial investment, more than fossil-fuelled generators. Around 80% of this is machinery, and the rest is site preparation and installation. Given the high initial cost, it is important to know the exact financial outlay and whether it will be cost-effective for you personally or for your company. Financial planning is the best course of action to ensure you are prepared to make the investment and make the most of it.

You can learn more about Wind Energy Project financehere.

Where can I find best practices and Models on Wind Energy? For people or companies looking to implement wind energy, the Eloquens catalogue has a variety of Wind Energy Project Finance models, frameworks & best practices designed and built by professionals and experts. You can also build and self-publish your own on Eloquens directly.