Brussels Brief August 2016

The countdown to the WindEurope Summit begins

CEO foreword

The WindEurope Summit 2016 (27-29 September) is fast approaching. As you know, our world leading wind energy conference is teaming up with WindEnergy Hamburg, the top exhibition for our industry. The two events will run side-by-side in Hamburg, which is of course a global industrial hub for our sector.

WindEurope will focus exclusively on the conference and social events in Hamburg. The WindEurope Summit 2016 will host over 40 conference sessions tailored to the interests of visiting delegates. From the political to the technical, the WindEurope Summit 2016 will have a strong offering for the expert, the strategist and the executive with unparalleled business and networking opportunities.

Some of the biggest names in the industry and in global energy policy will come together over the three-day event to share their insights on the opportunities and challenges facing the wind sector. There’s a long list of top speakers: German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel; EU Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic; Bloomberg New Energy Finance Chairman Michael Liebreich; leading energy thinker Jeremy Rifkin; CEOs from Envision.

The Summit will look at a broad range of issues impacting the wind market today and set to impact us in the future: the state of wind markets in Europe and worldwide; technology developments; digitisation; grid integration and power storage design; how the financing of wind is evolving; the growing role of PPAs (public and corporate); the importance of electrification in transport and heating; and in each of these areas how government policy can help address the challenges. The overall theme of the Summit will be making transition work.

Four of the companies leading the energy transition in Europe – DONG Energy, ENEL Green Power, Enercon and Nordex – have taken on the role of Event Ambassador for the Summit. They will showcase some of the solutions that are essential to delivering a secure, timely and cost-effective energy transition.

In the margins of the Summit there’ll be a roundtable discussion between industry CEOs and ministers from industrialised economies. We are running this in collaboration with the OECD.

The social functions will play an important role throughout the week. On the eve of the event (Monday 26 September) we’ll have our traditional members reception. On the final evening (Thursday 29th) we’ll have a gala dinner where the speaker will be IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

Registration for the WindEurope Summit is now open. We look forward to seeing you there.

Register now

 

Event Ambassadors

 

WindEurope Summit 2016

Sessions not to miss…

Business heavily depends on policy developments. With this in mind, three visionary Business meets policy sessions have been introduced where industry leaders and policy-makers will discuss current trends, challenges and opportunities.

Business meets policy

What future for wind in Europe?
Michael Liebreich, Chairman and Founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, will start the session with a thought-provoking view of the state of the industry in Europe and the challenges it faces. This will be followed by a discussion between ministers and key industry figures.

Wind outside Europe – how far can it go?
Darius Snieckus will moderate this session that will try to answer the question what will be the role of wind energy in the implementation of the Paris climate agreement across the world and how this is affecting the industry. Klaus Töpfer – former Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will be one of the panellists sharing his view on this topic.

Disruption on its way?
Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and advisor to the European Union will be setting the scene for this interesting discussion. He will be joined on the stage by Jeremy Leggett, Futurologist, and famous author of the “Winning the carbon war” bestseller book.

 

Market development sessions

Eight market development sessions will address business opportunities and challenges in European and global markets.

 

Research and innovation sessions

The digital economy and wind
Join this session to find out where Europe is standing on the digitisation of its wind energy sector. What are the challenges and bottlenecks? Which success stories look promising? What can we learn from other, more advanced, industries?

Making the most out of EU R&I funding
This session will provide participants with an overview of the challenges ahead for the wind industry in Europe, and present the R&I funding opportunities offered by the EU, with concrete examples of successful initiatives.

From academic research to industrial applications – linking people, projects and ideas
The session aims at presenting some of these products, gather views from industry representatives and discuss several topics of common concern in order to further align the views of the wind industry with the research community. Following introductory speeches, an interactive (match-making) session will be organised, where EERA Technology Transfer Experts from various European research institutes will be at the disposal of the industry representatives to show how industry could benefit from EERA JP Wind research results.

WindEurope Summit 2016 will be an excellent arena for information exchange and learning for industry, academia and policy alike.

View the full programme   Register now to avoid onsite queues

 

Business intelligence

WindEurope released the 2016 mid-year offshore wind statistics last Wednesday, with key highlights showing that the European offshore wind industry attracted a record EUR 14 billion in new investments during the first six months of 2016.

Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, said: “The record investment numbers show a clear industry commitment to offshore wind. We expect installations will pick up significantly in 2017 but there are a lot of challenges out there still on offshore wind. Not least the uncertainty over future volumes and regulation in many key markets for the period after 2020. We’re a long way from being able to say job done on offshore wind.”

The WindEurope Summit 2016 will cover all aspects of offshore wind development. Through many specialised sessions, expert speakers and industry professionals will discuss how taking down barriers can lead to further industry growth in the offshore industry.

Offshore sessions at WindEurope Summit 2016

 

WindEnergy Hamburg

The leading wind energy conference is teaming up with WindEnergy Hamburg, the top exhibition for the wind industry. The two events will run side-by-side in Hamburg, which is a global industrial hub for the wind energy sector.

More than 1,200 exhibitors will present their products and services in the nine exhibition halls, which provide a total of more than 65,000 square metres of exhibition space. The event will act as a unique meeting point and bring together the major players in the wind industry and related sectors – as well as completely new partners in an ever-evolving market.

Leading companies in the wind industry and across the supply chain will attend the event and present their solutions. Planners, manufacturers, financial backers, suppliers, energy and service providers from both in the onshore and the offshore will all be there to showcase the very best of the industry.

The WindEnergy Hamburg ticket shop is open.
 
Secure your expo tickets* now and benefit from online registration:

• Save up to 40% by early online registration
• Save time at the entrance in September
• Store your ticket on your mobile device, or print it, as you prefer

* Note: A conference pass includes 4-day exhibition visitor pass and daily catering. The exhibition pass DOES NOT include access to the conference.

Hamburg is getting ready. Get ready for Hamburg!

 

Social events

Members’ reception

Monday 26 September 2016, from 18:30 to 21:00
Location: Nord Event Panorama Deck in the Emporio, Dammtorwall 15, 20355 Hamburg

Join WindEurope’s annual Members’ reception, an evening of networking and entertainment prior to the official opening of WindEurope Summit 2016. An exclusive reception for WindEurope members will take place at the Panorama Deck, located on the 23 floor of the Emporio building. The venue offers a beautiful 360° view over the city. Registration will open soon.

 

Upcoming events

15th Wind Integration Workshop

15-17 November 2016, Vienna, Austria

Take a look at the programme overview for the workshop as well as the dinner and a study trip! (Note that the number of participants for the study trip is limited so book your seat today).

Register before 14 August at early bird rates.