New Wind of Opportunities in the Wind Energy Sector in Europe, Finds Frost & Sullivan

LONDON, July 1, 2010 - From under the thumb of the global economic downturn, budding
opportunities within the European Wind Energy sector are beginning to emerge.
Despite the slowdown of the industry in the middle of 2008, the tables are
turning, bringing optimistic trends in growth and development within the
region. Europe's pioneering and undisputed technology leadership in this
field is and has been drawing numerous investors to this region.

    (Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)
    (Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

The global economic crisis led to a lack of capital in the wind industry
and heightened scrutiny from lenders, causing a slowdown of the industry in
2009, spilling over into 2010. The crisis lowered investor confidence and
decreased corporate and project value.

However, an analysis from Frost & Sullivan (www.energy.frost.com),
Investment Opportunities in the Wind Energy Sector in Europe, details
developing opportunities available to participants and investors from three
perspectives - new geographies, value-chain and peripheral markets.

Many countries in Western Europe, such as Germany, Spain, Italy, France,
the UK, Denmark and Portugal, are numbered among the top ten countries for
installed capacity in the world. The EU 2020 Renewable Energy targets, and
other incentive mechanisms, have pushed many countries to improve their
renewable energy markets and investors are already aware of the opportunities
present there, both in the onshore and offshore wind energy markets.

Three countries in Western Europe that present greatest potential growth
are Sweden, Greece and Ireland. "The countries that have been chosen are
attractive because of the wind energy potential, the contribution that wind
energy can make to the RE targets, as well as government incentives," notes
Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Gouri Kumar. Similarly, countries in
Central and Eastern Europe such as Poland, Turkey, Bulgaria, the Czech
Republic and Romania are likely to present opportunities and are moving
towards opening attractive markets in the future.

Following the onslaught of the crisis, several important trends emerged
in the European industry. The offshore wind industry, supported by a number
of countries such as the UK and Germany, is rapidly developing. Offshore wind
energy installations offer higher productivity than onshore projects due,
primarily, to the lack of intrusions. While average wind speed on land is
7m/sec, offshore speed is higher, touching 9 or 10m/sec. "Load factors are
also double those of onshore wind," says Kumar. "Moreover, project economics
and economies of scale encourage developers and owners to build large-scale
projects (greater than 100 MW), thereby making a bigger contribution to the
renewable energy target."

Likewise, the trend of re-powering, for the refurbishment of wind
turbines in order to produce better performance and greater capacity, is
being strengthened, particularly in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

Complexity of some of the wind industry value-chain components,
particularly bearings and gearboxes, has led to expanded production
facilities, motivating further research and development. Remarkably, before
the economic crisis, the general shortage of supply presented a substantial
hindrance to market growth. However, the decrease in demand during the crisis
allowed time for the supply chain to "catch up", thus providing growth
opportunities as production managers look to avoid this pre-crisis imbalance
in the future. Investment in blade design and production facilities by most
wind turbine manufacturers has expanded and is expected to grow further.

Interest in construction and O&M (Operation and Management) markets in
both onshore and offshore wind energy divisions has escalated steadily.
Factors such as the general growth of the wind energy sector, an increase of
financial investors outside the private sector, and falling cost of wind
energy, are encouraging external awareness. Opportunities in the much-needed
development of ports and installation vehicles are particularly substantial.
"Ports, most of which are around the North and Baltic Sea, are ill-equipped
at the moment to handle offshore wind activities," says Kumar. She continues
to explain that the supply of installation vessels likewise requires
attention and funding. "With the growth of the offshore wind energy sector in
Europe, installation vessels are going to be in short supply … Seeing the
opportunity in the market, a lot of investment has gone into building them."

Services in the O&M sector are vital to the furtherance of the wind
energy market. With an increasing interest in the establishment of offshore
and onshore wind farms, O&M providers are needed for the day-to-day running
of wind turbines, 24/7 service teams and predictive and corrective
maintenance. An escalating number of ISPs (independent service providers) are
answering the need for external providers in the fast growing market.

Focus on improving the grid network and developing more adequate power
storage technologies has intensified. Grid networks in Europe are outdated,
as most were built 40-50 years ago without consideration of the impact of
electricity generated from renewable energy projects - especially wind, as it
is the fastest growing. Similarly, the necessity of stabilizing energy supply
by regulation through improved and available storage has brought power
storage technologies to light. Frost & Sullivan believes that as interest
buds, the sector will receive more attention in the future.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an
e-mail to Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications, at
chiara.carella@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone
number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

Investment Opportunities in the Wind Energy Sector in Europe is part of
the Energy & Power Growth Partnership Services programme, which also includes
research in the following markets: large hydropower, biomass energy and
offshore wind energy. All research services included in subscriptions provide
detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated
following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Investment Opportunities in the Wind Energy Sector in Europe

M51C

    Contact:
    Chiara Carella
    Corporate Communications - Europe
    P: +44-0-20-7343-8314
    M: +44-0-753-3017689
    E: chiara.carella@frost.com

Chiara Carella, Corporate Communications - Europe of Frost & Sullivan, +44-0-20-7343-8314, mobile, +44-0-753-3017689, chiara.carella at frost.com