Over 8000 delegates from 54 countries descended on Copenhagen this year to attend the EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 event at the Bella Center – the world’s largest offshore wind energy conference and exhibition.
In addition to 430+ exhibitors, the event saw keynote speeches from high-level political and industry players on the state of Europe’s offshore wind industry and the continent’s energy mix at large.
EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 played host to the Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and six ministers from four different Member States including the Deputy Prime Minister of Denmark Morten Ostergaard; Denmark’s Foreign Minister Martin Lidegaard; Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Building Rasmus Helveg Petersen; Sweden’s Energy Minister Ibrahim Baylan; Ireland’s Research and Innovation Minister Damien English; and the Latvian Economy Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola, whose country also holds the EU Council Presidency.
The central theme of the event tackled one of the most pressing issues for the offshore wind business today – cost reduction. Three of the biggest players on the European offshore wind stage – DONG Energy, MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and Siemens Wind Power – launched an initiative at the event called United Industry. The declaration aims to spark joint and collective actions across the whole of the value chain to deliver long-term reductions in the cost of offshore wind.
EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 also had a heavy press presence with over 100 journalists from the mainstream, trade and B2B media attending to speak with delegates and experts on a variety of different topics. Journalists were invited to a number of press conferences held by EWEA members as well as short boat trip to view the Middelgrunden offshore wind farm in Copenhagen – once the world’s largest offshore park.
The three-day event provided an excellent showcase and networking opportunity for EWEA’s members to speak with policymakers, media and industry partners alike while also enjoying a wide range of plenary sessions and workshops.
EWEA would like to thank everyone who contributed to making EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 a resounding success and looks forward to welcoming the wind industry supply chain at the EWEA 2015 Annual Event in Paris in November.
###
Massive global Offshore Wind conference backed by UK and European Associations announced for London
The first ever joint offshore wind conference organised by EWEA and RenewableUK was announced during the EWEA OFFSHORE 2015 event in Copenhagen last week. Offshore Wind Energy 2017 will take place in London between 6th and 8th June 2017, and will be instead of the annual event which RenewableUK holds and the biannual EWEA OFFSHORE event.
Offshore Wind Energy 2017 is expected to attract up to 12,000 wind industry players to the UK, with 70% of delegates expected to come from outside the UK. It is expected to be the world’s largest offshore wind energy conference and exhibition.
Commenting on the announcement, Maria McCaffery, Chief Executive of RenewableUK said: “We are delighted that Offshore Wind Energy 2017 is coming to London. As the UK is the world-leader in the offshore wind industry, it makes sense for RenewableUK and EWEA to collaborate on this first-of-a-kind joint event.”
Thomas Becker, Chief Executive Officer of EWEA, said: “The UK is already the global goliath of the offshore wind industry and there is still so much left to play for. The UK is sitting on a goldmine when it comes to offshore wind and that is why we are very much looking forward to teaming up with RenewableUK for Offshore Wind Energy 2017 in London.”
