The recent financial meltdown has intensified the spotlight on the resilience of various industries. The renewable energy industry and particularly the wind energy sector initially seemed to be hardly affected by the sudden lack of project finance and debt.
However, the situation has changed. Market participants in the wind energy sector have new barriers as well as opportunities to reckon with.
The Energy Group at Frost and Sullivan is pleased to announce a web conference titled 'Wind Energy and the Global Crisis – Threats, Opportunities and Strategies', to be held on 21 January, 2009 at 3:00pm GMT.
During the conference, Frost and Sullivan's Research Analyst Gouri Kumar will summarise the present situation in the wind energy industry, highlight threats and opportunities faced by equipment manufacturers and project developers.
The briefing will also depict strategies adopted by major players, and provide a future outlook for the industry in the midst of the crisis.
"As it takes up to three years to construct a wind farm, smaller regional wind developers may find it difficult or expensive to raise funds for new projects.
"Also, debt maturity schedules and a lack or high rates of re-financing options can force some companies into selling their assets," notes Gouri Kumar. This will eventually lead to a slowing down of the bullish growth rates seen in the past few years.
"Simultaneously, the crisis has brought a few opportunities to certain players in the sector. Cash-rich utilities may choose not to approach banks or debt markets as they can fund projects off their balance sheets. If they prefer to turn to debt markets, often the interest rates they are able to obtain are lower than those offered to other companies.
"While some utilities are revisiting their development strategies and putting projects on hold, others are busy increasing their foothold in wind market."
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