Friday, 17 September 2021 Reading time : 3 minutes

Wind
The production of electricity from wind is based on a tradition of wind use dating back centuries. Wind turbines' current configuration – a rotor with three blades, attached to a gondola above a tower – became established in the 1980s. Wind power exhibits a series of ecological benefits. The time taken by a turbine to recoup the cost involved in its own manufacturing (energetic amortization time) is now just a little over six months. The wind turbine also needs hardly any water to operate, giving it significant advantages over coal or nuclear-fired power stations. This form of energy is furthermore available on a relatively decentralized basis. At the end of its service life, a wind turbine can be completely dismantled and recycled. The growth of the wind energy sector reflects these benefits. Worldwide, the expansion of wind power continues apace. Annual growth in wind energy production capacity has averaged 28% since 2000. Forecasts suggest that – in a modest scenario – capacity could be expanded to up to 800 GW by 2020, which would mean wind energy accounting for 9% of global electricity production. Integration of wind energy plants with the electricity grid is another important point. In many countries, wind power already has a considerable share of the total electricity produced. In five European countries, this share is more than 7% whereby Denmark and Spain are top of the group with 21% and 14.5% respectively. This has a dampening effect on electricity spot prices.

ZKB MeinIndex Sustainability Wind
For the ZKB MeinIndex Sustainability Wind, companies from the three groups in the value chain are selected from the sustainable investment universe of Zürcher Kantonalbank. The primary focus is on the manufacturing of wind turbines for electricity production (manufacturers and suppliers), as well as project planning for wind farms and additional wind-farm services. This index does not depict the operation of wind farms as electricity suppliers. Technologies such as compressed air storage and hydrogen production may be added to the wind-power sector in future. The wind-energy value chain can be divided into the following categories:

Wind turbine producers
Companies which are involved in the development, production, distribution and/or servicing of wind turbines.

Suppliers
Suppliers to the wind turbine manufacturers include producers of gears, rotor blades, generators, electrical components, towers and companies that connect wind farms to the grid.

Project developers
Project developers are involved in the development, production and operation (on behalf of third parties) of wind farms.

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