WAB postpones WINDFORCE Conference to September
Bremerhaven, 26 March 2020 – Bremerhaven-based wind industry group WAB has decided to postpone its WINDFORCE Conference 2020 from May 12th and 13th to September 3rd and 4th. The conference venue remains the same. The decision follows the restrictions caused by the escalation of COVID-19 in Europe.
"The health and safety of everyone involved is, of course, our number one priority. As usual, our annual WINDFORCE Conference should be a win for all participants - and no risk. In view of this, we have decided to postpone the event,” said WAB managing director Heike Winkler.
The WINDFORCE Conference can only live up to its own claim of being one of the most important European offshore wind conferences with a strong network character by postponing it to the new date. “We hope that the new date matches the timetable of as many friends of the WINDFORCE Conference as possible,” she added.
The WINDFORCE conference is the central meeting point for the offshore wind industry - and traditionally a platform for the political voice of industry. “The COVID-19 crisis presents the wind industry - like many other industries - with a gigantic challenge. Unfortunately, in Germany it cannot rely on a stable and long-term perspective in its home market. Together we will remind policymakers that the current exceptional situation must not prevent them from consistently pursuing their long-term goals for climate protection, ie for the expansion of wind and the production of “green” hydrogen,” said Heike Winkler. WAB calls for a long-term, reliable expansion path of at least 35 gigawatts of installed offshore wind power by 2035 and at least 50 gigawatts by 2050. According to a Fraunhofer report, the potential in German waters accounts to at least 57 gigawatts in that period.
In addition to presentations by international experts, the conference offers interesting networking and discussion opportunities: In cooperation with the EU Interreg North Sea Region project INN2Power, a B2B matchmaking session will take place on the first day of the conference. And in a pitch session, among other things, the WAB working groups present their work.
Great Britain is the official partner country of this year’s international offshore wind industry conference. Experts from the UK will be on site to speak about the current development of the markets, the political framework and the latest innovations in the industry. „The fact that over 80% of the North Sea offshore wind generation capacity is installed in German and British waters, as well as the increased focus on economies of scale, cost reduction and the common sense of collaborating on infrastructure and planning, motivates us to pursue a closer working relation than ever with the German offshore wind industry to the benefit of both countries”, said Kenan Poleo, Deputy Trade Commissioner for Europe and Counsellor International Trade, Germany.
Conference Website: https://windforce.info/windforce2020/en/
Inn2Power Website: https://northsearegion.eu/inn2power/
Picture: © WAB/Martina Buchholz
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.
Contact:
Hans-Dieter Sohn | Senior Communications and Marketing Manager WAB e.V. | +49 173 2382802 | hans.sohn@wab.net
