Like no other location, the north German city of Hamburg has been reaping the benefits from the rise of the wind energy branches. Today, the Hamburg metropolitan area boasts a unique concentration of stakeholders from the wind energy sector.

Hamburg’s geographical location alone is a plus: a steady breeze and the open landscapes between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea offer excellent conditions for wind farms. Being an international service centre of the maritime industry and a financial centre for the renewable energy branches, the city also provides ideal conditions for project development and the export of goods. The Elbe metropolis is well under way to becoming the world’s number one location for management and innovative services in green technologies. Even today, a good 60 percent of the world’s wind energy expertise can be accessed from Hamburg in less than 2.5 hours.

Numerous international manufacturers, among them Siemens, Repower Systems, Nordex, PowerWind and Vestas, have their head office or sales units in the Hamburg region.

International hub for the wind power sector
Numerous international manufacturers, among them Siemens, Repower Systems, Nordex, PowerWind and Vestas, have their head office or sales units in the Hamburg region. Earlier this year, the US company General Electric opened a research centre for offshore wind energy in Hamburg, while the Danish energy supplier Dong Energy is expanding its Hamburg branch for offshore wind parks. The French AREVA corporation has moved its wind energy offices to Hamburg, and the world’s third-largest wind farm manufacturer, Gamesa from Spain, is due to open an offshore office at the Elbe.

A number of other national and international companies are currently heading for Hamburg, thereby supporting the sustainable development of Hamburg as a business location. With employee numbers in the four-digit range, these companies do their bit in strengthening the regional job market.

But also energy suppliers are focussing their wind energy activities on Hamburg, among them suppliers from the German market such as EnBW, RWE Innogy and Vattenfall. For these companies, Hamburg is the perfect location for co-ordinating their offshore activities at the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. For instance, the Stuttgart-based company Windreich AG operates its offshore activities from Hamburg. Siemens manages the distribution of wind energy plants for Central Europe from Hamburg, and the company’s “Competence Center Offshore Platforms” with 80 employees is also located in the Hanseatic city.

The Federal government’s decision to pull out of nuclear energy has encouraged companies to set up wind farms on the North Sea coast. Locations within the Hamburg metropolitan region can boast a massive potential as offshore bases. The wind farms in the North Sea considerably contribute to boosting the German renewable energy market. The aim is to increase the proportion of renewable energy from currently 17 percent to a total of 35 percent in 2022, the year in which the last of Germany’s nuclear power stations is to be removed from the grid.

Exporting wind power technology
A large proportion of wind power technology made in Hamburg is distributed abroad; especially to European countries, the United States and China. The sector’s current export ratio is 80 percent.

Siemens AG recently opened a new production plant for wind energy in China and the United States. Moreover, at the coast of the province Jiangsu, Siemens is currently building twenty-one wind energy plants, each having 2.3 megawatt power and a rotor diameter of 101 metres. In the first third of 2011, Siemens was commissioned to build a total of 151 onshore plants for the European market; with a combined power of approximately 360 megawatt – which equals the energy need of 230,000 European households.

Hamburg-based plant construction company Nordex is also expanding its activities on the North American market. The company is planning a 120 megawatt wind park in Nebraska, to be opened in 2013. Next year, Nordex is due to start construction on “Blaiken”, a 150 megawatt wind park in Sweden that would be the biggest of its kind yet. Clients include Skellefteå Kraft, a leading Swedish energy supplier, and Fortum, a major European supplier based in Finland.

Significant service centre
One of the reasons for Hamburg attracting so many European businesses is the city’s infrastructure: Hamburg is home to a whole range of industry-specific enterprises such as engineers, financial advisers, insurance companies and specialised solicitors. Industries such as logistics and aeronautical design as well as research bodies in meteorology and climate research further enrich the scene, offering opportunities for technological synergies and product innovation.

Hamburg’s service-oriented attitude, combined with an excellent infrastructure for logistics, including its port and airport, provide ideal conditions for exporting green technologies. Thanks to the city’s active locational policy, the up-and-coming renewable energy industry is gaining momentum. The industry is increasingly turning into Hamburg’s motor for innovation, catching up with the regional giants of logistics, aviation and aircraft construction, IT and media, as well as port and shipping.

City of green pioneers

The fact that Hamburg offers such favourable conditions for entrepreneurial spirits is vouchsafed by the number of start-ups to be found in the city. But also in terms of patent applications, Hamburg is leading the list: compared with other German regions, Hamburg accounts for the highest number of patent applications per capita.

One of these entrepreneurs is Stefan Wrage, who has developed paragliders for cargo ships, which are built and distributed by his company, SkySails. The kites complement a ship’s engine by pulling the ship through the sea. The sails rise to a height of up to 300 metres, crossing in front of the vessel in a figure of eight. Depending on the wind conditions, sea-going vessels can make fuel savings of 10 to 35 percent by installing these high-performance wind propulsion devices. This will not only reduce the ship’s CO2 emissions, but also the release of other pollutants such as sulphur, soot particles and nitric oxide.

Hamburg’s green energy suppliers, among them Lichtblick AG and Greenpeace Energy eG, are also pioneers in their field. Greenpeace Energy and its subsidiaries have been investing in wind farms and other green projects. Another player worth mentioning is Hamburg Energie, the city’s proprietary energy supplier. Launched as part of the Senate’s climate protection scheme, the aim of the company is to meet the city’s energy needs using renewable energy. To achieve this, the company has invested in wind turbines, a plant situated on a former landfill, and a wastewater treatment plant that produces bio gas. Other companies such as Vattenfall, RWE Innogy and EON Hanse, operate their renewable energy ventures from Hamburg. The citizens seem to appreciate their efforts, with 17 percent of households drawing their energy from green sources – Hamburg is leading the way.

To support the sector, the Renewable Energy Cluster Hamburg funds the research and development of innovative technologies, recruitment of staff and training of young experts. The Cluster also connects companies, organisations and universities in the Hamburg metropolitan region.

European Green Capital on the waterside

This year, Hamburg is honoured with the title “European Green Capital”, bestowed from the EU Commission for its commitment to climate and environmental protection. By launching innovative projects in the field, the title is also providing new impetus to Hamburg’s green industries, such as electromobility, hydrogen technology and fuel cell technology. The title was also bestowed on Hamburg to acknowledge the city’s bold climate protection goals: until the year 2020, emissions are planned to be reduced by 40 percent compared with 1990, and by 2050 even further to 80 percent. Measures to achieve this goal include sustainable business and construction, eco-friendly traffic, nature conservation and sustainable consumption.

As a constantly growing port and industrial hub, the city has already managed to cut CO2 emissions by 15 percent since 1990. But the European Green Capital 2011 can also be considered the capital of parks, greens and nature reserves. Hardly any other German city boasts such an abundance of recreation areas and waterways, which provides the city with an excellent standard of living.