Robin Whitlockin: The global offshore wind power market is expected to grow from 7.1 Gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 39.9 GW by 2020 according to research company GlobalData. More countries around the world are utilising offshore wind potential, creating at least a fivefold rise in global offshore wind capacity – a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 28 percent. GlobalData’s latest report states that the sector registered substantial growth between 2006 and 2013, rising from 0.9 GW in 2006 to 7.1 GW in 2013. Of this 1.6GW came online in 2013, driven mainly by the UK, Germany, Denmark and Belgium. Offshore wind is now expected to become one of the largest renewable power market segments by 2020 with significant contributions by the UK, Germany and China, thanks to a number of projects currently in the planning and construction stages. “Offshore wind power is increasingly being explored for its high yield, due to stronger and more consistent winds compared to onshore, and the scope that this provides for the construction of large-scale projects” said Swati Singh, GlobalData’s Analyst covering Power. “An additional benefit is the fact that future offshore wind power technology development will ensure a decline in the average cost per megawatt, although overall project costs are expected to rise in countries with wind farms planned in deeper water and further from the shore.” Singh added that the main obstacles that will hinder market growth are environmental concerns, the lack of skilled personnel and sophisticated technology catering to offshore requirements. Despite these barriers, GlobalData expects offshore wind’s share in the global wind power market to climb from 2.2 percent in 2013 to 6.1 percent by 2020, as more countries embrace the technology. GlobalData is a global research and consulting firm that offers advanced analytics to help clients make better, more informed decisions utilising data based on the expert knowledge of over 700 qualified business analysts and 25,000 interviews conducted with industry insiders every year. For additional information: GlobalData, Source: Renewable Energy Magazine, Image: flickr.com
of the GSLV-D5 mission, however, is to flight-test the rocket’s all-important third stage: the indigenously-built cryogenic upper stage (CUS). The CUS, expected to be the mainstay of future GSLV flights, replaces the Russian cryogenic engine which was used in the rocket’s earlier experimental flights. There will be a lot of crossed fingers at Sriharikota during the launch, considering the new engine had a disastrous maiden flight in April 2010, shutting down less than a second after ignition, with the rocket plunging into the sea. The GSLV’s significance lies in the fact that the future of the global satellite market lies in the field of communications. The GSAT 14 satellite piggybacking the GSLV-D5 carries six Ku-band and six extended C-band transponders to help in digital audio broadcasting and other communications across the entire
subcontinent. Designed to last for a dozen years in its orbit, the satellite will replace the GSAT-3 (EDUSAT) which has been in orbit for 10 years. The big boosters in the GSLV series can hoist heavy communication satellites into geosynchronous orbits 36,000 km above the equator. In this position, the satellite keeps pace with Earth’s rotation and, as a result, appears stationary from the ground. This makes it easier to build simpler antennas on the ground, which do not have to track moving satellites in the sky. But powerful GSLV Mark IIIs (like the GSLV-D5) that can carry five-tonne satellites need cryogenic engines. These engines use fuels like oxygen and hydrogen in
liquid form — stored at extremely low temperatures — to produce enormous amounts of thrust per unit mass (engineering parlance for the mass of fuel the engine requires to provide maximum thrust for a specific period such as, say, pounds of fuel per hour per pound of thrust). Rockets powered by cryogenic motors, therefore, need to carry much less fuel than would otherwise be required. Cryogenic fuels are also extremely clean as they give out only water while burning. A successful GSLV-D5 flight will make India only the sixth nation to possess this cutting edge technology, joining the United States, Russia, France, Japan and China in an elite club. India’s cryogenic
motor development encountered some rough weather in 1993 when exaggerated US jitters — that India might utilise its space capabilities for military purposes — led to Moscow chickening out of a cryo-engine technology transfer deal with New Delhi. Of course, the real reason for guarding cryogenic engine technology so zealously probably had more to do with economics than national security. India’s arrival in the global heavy-lift launch market as a low cost launch source would have threatened the business interests of Europe, Russia, and the US. In hindsight, though, it seems to have been a disguised blessing for Indian scientists who were forced to develop
the technology on their own. The GSLV will reduce India’s dependence on foreign launchers like the ESA’s Ariane to launch INSAT-class satellites. Isro sources speak of plans to fly two more GSLVs at six-month-intervals before using the third one for the Chandrayaan-2 Moon mission. The GSLV-Mark III is also earmarked for launching human space flights in future and building orbiting space stations. Isro has built up an impressive portfolio of comparatively cheap space products and services that are attractive to foreign space agencies that want to outsource space missions. Together with the old workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the GSLV can bolster
India’s launch capability, which already boasts 30 to 35% cheaper launches than other countries. That said, however, the space agency cannot afford to ignore the fact that other players jostling in the international space market are constantly pushing the bar still higher. For the moment, though, all eyes will be on the GSLV-D5 mission, which will determine how soon Isro can claim its rightful share of the $300 billion global space market. 
