Bilbao is one more year the great international event of the European wind sector with the celebration of WindEurope Annual Event 2022, in which more than 8,000 attendees will participate from April 5 to 7 at the Bilbao Exhibition Center (BEC), and where the Business Association Eolica (AEE) is a national partner.
His Majesty King Felipe VI has inaugurated WindEurope Bilbao 2022 at a key moment on a global level in which the search for the creation of a new economic model that is more independent from abroad points to renewables, and specifically to wind energy, as part of the solution that will shape the future world energy order. The wind sector in Spain is prepared to contribute its full potential to this challenge.
“The visit of His Majesty the King of Spain to WindEurope 2022 highlights the leadership of the Spanish wind energy sector, being the fifth country in terms of installed wind power (the second in Europe) and the third in terms of exports worldwide. It is a key sector for the Spanish economy with more than 250 industrial centers that provide quality employment to 30,000 professionals. There are 1,298 wind farms, already generating 23% of the electricity we consume. Our National Energy and Climate Plan tasks us with doubling current wind capacity by 2030, which will add more than 60,000 jobs. To achieve that goal, we must install more than 2.5 GW of new wind power per year. It is a great effort, but we have all the capabilities to achieve it”, said Juan Diego Díaz, president of AEE, at the inauguration of WindEurope 2022.
Díaz added that “in Europe there is a strong consensus with the common project “Fit for 55” and the improvement of the penetration target for renewables to 45%. Renewable energies are the indisputable structural solution to achieve climatic and economic objectives, but also social ones. Among renewable energies, wind energy is the central element of a new economic model that is more resistant and independent from the outside”.
The president of AEE has pointed out in his speech the main challenges on which wind energy is working, such as the problems of the supply chain, being a key challenge for the main European manufacturers of wind turbines, the pressure on auction prices awarded with a single price criterion, plus the protectionism of certain markets. Likewise, the granting of permits is an important task in Europe, whose processing problems are directly related to social acceptance in some rural areas. It is very important that we work together with local communities, through dialogue, social sensitivity, transparency to demonstrate the real value and great benefits that wind energy offers to rural areas and their people. Another important challenge is the need for investor confidence as a pillar to overcome the current crisis and achieve the climate goals at the end of this decade.
“Our companies have been working globally for more than twenty years to make the energy transition a reality. We have reached a key milestone: wind energy is now the leading source of electrical energy in our mix and one of the strategic industrial sectors of our economy. Let’s keep growing together”, concluded Juan Diego Díaz in his speech.
For his part, Giles Dickson, CEO of WindEurope, pointed out at the opening that “this event comes at a decisive moment for Europe, which requires a new energy policy with less dependence on imported fossil fuels and an accelerated transition to renewable energies. renewable. In the EU it has ambitious objectives for wind energy: increase from the current 190 GW to 480 GW by 2030. In Bilbao we will focus on how to achieve it, addressing the barriers that must be overcome”.
In addition, Teresa Ribera, Third Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Arantxa Tapia, Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government; and Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General for Energy of the European Commission, among others.
WindEurope 2022 is the international event to discuss the main challenges of the wind sector and share experiences, bringing together politicians and industry leaders, financial institutions, the scientific community, emerging companies and strategic players from across the energy sector. This event, which is attended by more than 8,000 professionals, is made up of exhibition pavilions with the latest technological developments, with an outstanding presence of Spanish companies, and more than 300 speakers.
https://www.evwind.com/2022/04/05/windeurope-2022-afianza-a-la-eolica-como-la-tecnologia-clave/
