Around 250 national and international experts, including from the conference partner country France, will meet for this purpose on the grounds of the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven for this traditional "class meeting of the offshore wind industry". The patron of this year's WINDFORCE is the Federal Minister of Economics and Climate Protection, Dr Robert Habeck.
Until Wednesday, the focus will be on the international sustainable development of the supplier industry for offshore wind and "green" hydrogen under the motto "Offshore Wind: Implementing Climate Targets and Creating Employment".
If the right course is set now for skilled workers and for the offshore wind supply industry as well as the maritime industry, WAB believes that the expansion of 30 gigawatts by 2030 and at least 70 gigawatts of offshore wind in Germany by 2045 in the long term can succeed.
"We are committed to ensuring that the expansion of climate-protecting offshore wind energy once again provides more employment and value creation and that "green" hydrogen can be produced economically. In the current revision of the Wind Energy at Sea Act, the Federal Government should take up the initiative of the Bundesrat and integrate the climate-damaging emissions in the production of an offshore wind farm via the consideration of the CO2 footprint as a tender criterion, as well as a sprinter programme for 'green' hydrogen ", WAB Managing Director Heike Winkler said. "And above all, we need a qualification and training offensive along the value chain, support for the maritime industry and the necessary port infrastructure," added the WAB Managing Director.
"The goal of a climate-neutral economy and the need to become as independent as possible from imports of fossil fuels in view of the Russian attack on Ukraine can only be realised together with efficient port infrastructures. For both the German government's ambitious expansion plan for offshore wind power and the development of value chains for green hydrogen, ports are indispensable as transshipment locations. Planning and approval procedures must therefore be further accelerated. The port locations must also be supported by the federal government in investing in their infrastructure. This is the only way to achieve the German energy transition and to work on Germany's energy independence," said Dr Claudia Schilling, Bremen's Senator for Science and Ports.
WAB has long advocated for a dialogue with policymakers about the sustainable development of offshore wind supply chains in Europe. Almost all countries with offshore wind projects in operation or in development support domestic value creation and employment in this international industry. Our goal is a Europe with fair competitive conditions, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Close exchange within Europe is indispensable for this.
Until Wednesday, international experts will discuss in Bremerhaven the sustainable development of offshore wind energy, the emerging "green" hydrogen economy as well as floating wind power in order to promote corresponding innovations and to enable a sustainable cost degression.
"Ambitious offshore expansion is the key to climate protection and a secure, cheap and independent energy supply. But without setting the right course, we jeopardise reaching the 2030 target. We need dynamic inflation compensation and a waiver of additional payments in the tenders, an acceleration of approvals as well as a higher and evenly distributed concrete order volume," said Martin Gerhardt, Managing Director of Siemens Gamesa in Germany at the WINDFORCE panel discussion.
"We welcome the ambitious expansion targets of the German government and continue to support them in order to drive forward the supply of green energy to Germany. This is the only way we can become independent of foreign energy imports, contribute to security of supply and curb climate change. The order of the day is that tenders for offshore wind farms are system-integrative and make economic sense as well as social sense. Otherwise, we risk losing these opportunities in Germany," said Jörg Kubitza, Managing Director of Ørsted Germany.
"Rapid offshore expansion only goes hand in hand with a strong and flexible transmission grid at sea and on land. TenneT plays an important role in this in Europe. In Germany and the Netherlands, we are aiming to connect around 20 GW of offshore wind energy each by 2030. With our experience and a large number of technical innovations, such as our 2 GW standard or the meshing of the direct current grid, we are well prepared for this ambitious task. Now, however, politicians must put an end to overregulation and trust companies to implement the energy transition responsibly," said Tim Meyerjürgens, Chief Operating Officer of the transmission system operator TenneT.
One thematic focus will be on the partner country France. Other expert presentations will shed light on the entire value chain of offshore wind energy as well as developments in international markets.
"The WINDFORCE Conference is a great opportunity for experts from France to learn from German offshore wind experiences. We are looking forward to learning about ideas for the French market, which is finally taking off with the first large offshore wind farm currently under construction in the Atlantic Ocean and which has delivered first power. We look forward to forming Franco-German partnerships to realise concrete projects," said Matthieu Monnier, Deputy CEO of the French wind energy association FEE.
On the sidelines of the international trade conference WINDFORCE, the WAB is celebrating its 20th anniversary. "We are very pleased to be able to bring some of the pioneers onto the stage of the 18th WINDFORCE Conference, who played a significant role in the founding and development of what was then known as the 'Offshore Wind Energy Agency'. We would like to thank them for their far-sighted commitment on behalf of our member companies," said Jens Assheuer, Chairman of the WAB e.V. Board of Directors.
Conference Website: https://windforce.info/
Picture: © Jan Oelker
Group picture: (c) WAB/Wirrwa
About WAB e.V.
Bremerhaven-based WAB is the nationwide contact partner for the offshore wind industry in Germany and the leading business network for onshore wind energy in the north-west region. The association fosters the production of "green" hydrogen from wind energy. It comprises some 250 smaller and larger businesses as well as institutes from all sectors of the wind industry, the maritime industry as well as research. www.wab.net
Contact
Hans-Dieter Sohn | Senior Communications and Marketing Manager WAB e.V. | +49 173 2382802 | hans.sohn @ wab.net
