On June 23rd 2009, the US administration approved five offshore wind projects along the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware and US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, declared the development of offshore wind energy as an administrative issue of the highest priority.
"The majority of the US population lives on the East and West Coasts and Offshore wind energy installations can provide large portions of the energy needed in those densely populated areas," says Annette Bossler, Wind Industry Coordinator at Composite Alliance in Maine and continues, "The Federal Government cleared the way for developers to plant wind farms in offshore waters on the outer continental shelf with new published regulations championed by President Obama. NOW is the opportunity for companies to establish their position in the US off shore wind energy market."
For this reason, the focus during the first European-North American offshore summit, taking place on the 10th and 11th of September 2009 in Rostock, Germany, lies on an early and specific exchange of experiences between offshore companies and the individual States in the US. For the first time, four of the United States engaged in the offshore industry (manufacturers as well as suppliers) including New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts and Virginia will speak at the summit.
Host and Initiator is Invest in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; organizer is the GADORE Center USA (German-American Dialog on Renewable Energy). "The Offshore Summit: European-North American Dialog would like to convey qualified business contacts in a booming, yet challenging segment.
The event in Rostock offers a platform for this intercontinental exchange," explains Annette Nuesslein from the GADORE Center USA (German office) and adds, "The participation of the manufacturers such as Siemens and REpower, as well as the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), amongst others, promises a lively discussion concerning offshore strategies, learning processes and competences required in the offshore business. It also provides a unique opportunity of making new business contacts in the industry."
Manufacturers and developers of offshore wind energy turbines including Siemens Wind Power, REpower Systems, Gamesa and Clipper as well as the EnBW Erneuerbare Energien, project planners of offshore wind farms, will offer their experience and insight whilst presenting their projects and participating in panel discussions.
A higher priority is given to the strategically important offshore supply chain: numerous suppliers and project partners, amongst others, MWB Motorenwerke Bremerhaven, Hochtief Construction, Converteam, ep4offshore, Ed. Züblin, WeserWind and many more, will be speaking about complex problems and efficient solutions.
“Internationally diverse alignments, experience and competence within the offshore industry are in this event’s focus.” says Annette Nuesslein, owner of the GADORE Center USA.
The Managing Director of Invest in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Michael Sturm, explains, “The Offshore-Summit: European-North American Dialog will become an annual event in Rostock, serving as a platform for intercontinental exchange”. Just recently, construction work began for the first offshore wind farm along Mecklenburg-West Pomerania’s coast.
Principle of the offshore wind farm “Baltic 1” is Vattenfall Europe Baltic Offshore Grid (VEBOG); Operator is Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (EnBW). “Baltic 1” will include 21 wind energy turbines with a total capacity of 48.3 mega watts. The annual yield of approximately 180 giga watt hours of power will supply more than 50,000 households with electricity.
In the spring of 2008, EnBW acquired four offshore wind energy projects with a total capacity of around 1,200 mega watts. With “Baltic 1” off the shores of the Fishland-Darss-Zingst peninsular and Kriegers Flak off Rügen’s shores, two of those wind energy projects can be found in the Baltic Sea; “He dreiht” and “Hochseewindpark Nordsee” are located in the North Sea. In total, around three billion Euros will be invested within the next years.
The combination of American and European wind energy projects, the distinctions of the respective markets and the intensive dialog between experts from the manufacturer and supply chain side stand in the limelight of the Offshore Summit 2009 in Rostock.
www.gadorecenter.com/uploads/Programm-4s-1308.pdf
www.gadorecenter.com/uploads/GADORE_Press_Release_Offshore_Summit_2009.pdf
