Wind Power

Lord Heseltine tells the story of the birth of the European Space Agency. Why post-Apollo, when the US was spending £1.2 billion a year on space, the whole of Europe was spending just £200 million. Why the birth of ESA was driven by the self-interest of three major countries. Why the US general with a $29 billion budget for the Star Wars project wanted to invest in Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. Why, the idea that Britain could compete alone with the technologies that were accumulated and available to the American capitalist system was “simply laughable”. Why “being European is not selling out British interests”. And why Margaret Thatcher told him: “If you want to get on and put your budget into this, you can, but you're not getting any of mine."

Join Alice and Lord Heseltine as they pick apart the negotiating contrivances and the wheeling and dealing to circumnavigate “turkeys not voting for Christmas” that ultimately put European space on the map.

Contributors:
Alice Bunn, President of UKspace
Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng | LinkedIn
UKspace: Overview | LinkedIn

Lord Heseltine, Member of the House of Lords

Key topics covered:

Creation of the European Space Agency (ESA)
US "Star Wars" program and brain drain
Geopolitical case for European R&D collaboration
Impact of Brexit on science and technology

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Welcome to the Wind Power News Review – hosted by Windpower Monthly's senior reporter, Robyn White, and Windpower Monthly's reporter, Orlando Jenkinson – along with our regular panellist, Sorcha Versteeg.

This time, we discuss China’s latest advances in floating offshore wind, as developers unveil increasingly ambitious turbine and platform designs.

In the US, plans for a merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra reshape the country’s renewable energy landscape. But what could the deal mean for a wind sector facing continued political uncertainty?

Back in the UK, the government has approved the 3GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind cluster despite concerns over wake effects on neighbouring projects. How can developers tackle these disputes going forward?

And finally, Chinese wind turbine manufacturers continue to expand their presence in Europe, despite growing political resistance and efforts to strengthen domestic supply chains. Is there still a long-term future for Chinese OEMs in the European market?

This episode was produced by Jude Owen and Inga Marsden.

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In the final part of a four-episode series recorded at the recent WindEurope conference in Madrid, three floating wind specialists spoke to the Wind Power podcast about the prospects for this technology.

Windpower Monthly editor Ian Griggs spoke to two developers, Hugh Kelly, CEO of Simply Blue Energy and Knut Vassbotn, CEO of Deep Wind Offshore, about whether the current auction models are fit for purpose for this emerging technology.

Meanwhile, Laurent Verdier, chief development officer for the specialist floating wind technology firm, BW Ideol, discussed the likely consolidation of more than 100 players to the most viable companies in the years to come.

This episode was produced by Inga Marsden.

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In the third of a four-part series recorded at the recent WindEurope conference in Madrid, RWE’s onshore chief, Sopna Sury, spoke to the Wind Power podcast about grid bottlenecks how to engage communities with large energy infrastructure projects

Windpower Monthly editor Ian Griggs also spoke to Sury about the opportunities and challenges of the AI age and what it means for the wind industry – and future electricity consumption.

This episode was produced by Inga Marsden.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of a four-part series recorded at last month’s WindEurope conference in Madrid, Tara Singh, CEO of Renewable UK, talks to the Wind Power podcast about the current global energy crisis and how that makes the case for increasing the focus on renewables.
Windpower Monthly editor Ian Griggs spoke to Singh about the political outlook for wind power in the UK and about how the industry should respond to anti-wind narratives.
Singh also discussed how she would respond to US president Donald Trump’s ‘drill baby, drill’ mantra.
This episode was produced by Inga Marsden.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.