The General Assembly of the World Wind Energy Association has re-elected Hon. Peter Rae AO (Australia) for a third two year term as WWEA President. The WWEA General Assembly took place in Rio de Janeiro, on the occasion of the 18th World Wind Energy Conference WWEC2018.
WWEA President Peter Rae: “WWEA has broadened its activity as the wind energy component of the rollover to renewables has gained worldwide strength. Encouraging and facilitating a widespread public understanding of the strength and reality of renewables, particularly wind, is the challenge we face. Wind technology is rapidly changing with a huge growth in the size and efficiency of wind turbines. Together with my colleagues from around the world who make up the WWEA board and secretariat, I will continue to assist in this development and widespread public understanding.”
The WWEA General Assembly also elected the Vice Presidents of the association:
– Prof. Dr. Chuichi Arakawa, Japan
– Mr Heinrich Bartelt, Germany
– Dr. Jami Hossain, India
– Dr. Andriy Konechenkov, Ukraine
– Dr. Irfan Mirza, Pakistan
– Prof. Dr. Galal Osman, Egypt
– Morten Viktor Peter, Denmark
– Mr Qin Haiyan, China
– Dr. Ibrahim Togola, Mali
– Prof. Dr. Tanay Sidki Uyar, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Choong-Yul Son (Republic of Korea) was appointed as Honorary Vice President, after serving ten years as WWEA Vice President.
Ms Galina Shmidt and Dr. Tetsunari Iida were elected as auditors.
18th World Wind Energy Conference Large-scale Integration of Wind Power
Rio de Janeiro, 27 November 2019
The World Wind Energy Association welcomes the presence of those more than 300 participants from 20 countries attending this Conference, from wind and all other renewable energy technologies.
The Conference covered all aspects of the growth of wind utilisation and the related policies, science and technology, manufacturing, development, operation, integrated solutions, community involvement as well as other economic and social issues.
The Conference appreciates the support of many organisations, especially the International Renewable Energy Alliance including the International Geothermal Association, International Hydropower Association, International Solar Energy Society and World Bioenergy Association, REN21, the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform, Renewables Now, the Brazilian Wind Energy Association ABEEolica, the Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation ABGD, the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association ABVE, and all organisations and individuals enhancing the Conference.
The Conference was pleased to welcome the participation by representatives of the Brazilian national and state governments, by the International Energy Agency and by the International Renewable Energy Agency which underlined both the relevance of the event and of the host country for the global renewable energy debate.
The Conference thanks in particular the industry sponsors without whose support such international meeting would not be possible.
The Conference has tackled the issue of how to integrate wind power on a large scale in order to come to a world fuelled only by renewable energy. The Conference agrees that making direct benefits available to all levels of society in all countries of the world is key to substantially accelerate the switch to a renewable energy future.
The Conference welcomes and emphasises that wind and renewable energy are now broadly understood as lowest-cost solutions which have the potential to foster sustainable economic growth, to overcome energy poverty, and to strengthen resilience, autonomy and prosperity of communities.
The Conference underlines that, in accordance with the main theme of the event, manifold solutions and approaches for a large-scale integration of renewable energy and eventually a 100% renewable energy supply have been presented and discussed. These solutions have been successfully applied in different parts of the world and include various forms of storage, e.g. batteries, hydrogen or hydro pump storage, flexible and smart grids, demand side management and beyond.
In the host country Brazil and in many other countries, hydropower and pump storage have the potential to be the fastest and lowest cost solution. Accordingly, the Conference applauds the commitment made by the Presidents of the WWEA and the IHA to work together on launching a study referring to pump storage and renewable energy and the requirements for adjusting existing hydropower schemes.
The Conference applauds the progress made in some states of Brazil in maximising the renewable energy share up to eventually 100%. These achievements underline the importance of action on all levels of society and of government, from local communities, cities, regions, states to nations.
The Conference identified capacity building, education and training as key components of any national wind power and renewable energy strategy and encourages all governments and international organisations to set up and strengthen comprehensive programmes. Education will also play an important role in enabling citizens and communities to fulfil their important, active role in the energy transition.
The Conference applauds the announcement of the foundation of the Brazilian Wind Energy Academy ACEOLICA which will enable all relevant universities, research centers and associations to achieve better coordination, and will act as a catalyst for further rapid wind power deployment as well as will advise related government agencies. ACEOLICA will also collaborate internationally, e.g. with the proposed world renewable energy education initiative.
The Conference applauds the making of the World Wind Energy Award 2019 to Dr. Andriy Konechenkov and Ms Galyna Shmidt for their key roles in initiating and implementing the renewable energy programmes of their home country, Ukraine, and for their international contributions to renewable energy, as well as the World Wind Energy Honorary Award to Dr. Reive Barros do Santos and Dr. Elbia Gannoum for their important contributions in the public and in the private sector respectively to making Brazil the leading wind energy country in South America.
The Conference encourages all wind energy stakeholders to participate in the next World Wind Energy Conference to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 7-9 September 2020.
Rio de Janeiro, 27 November 2019
WWEC2019 Chairpersons:
Hon. Peter Rae AO Dr. Everaldo Feitosa Stefan Gsänger
