In the latest example of cities getting behind wind power and other renewable energies, Shanghai has announced it might spend as much as €2 billion in the next four years to increase its capacity of green energy, with more than half earmarked for onshore and offshore wind farms.
Shanghai, the largest metropolis in China with 23 million residents, said in a statement that the money would play a key role in achieving a civic target of 1% of energy use coming from locally-developed non-fossil fuels.
By Tuuliki Kasonen, General Manager, Estonian Wind Power Association
Offshore wind energy is an innovative new industry, which by creating thousands of jobs and intensive investments gives Europe a necessary impulse for economic growth. It can also provide the missing pieces in the energy and climate puzzle that Europe needs to solve urgently. What I brought home from EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 – the world’s largest offshore wind energy event – was the feeling that the next decade will be crucial for bringing down the costs and filling some gaps to make this type of energy production a really competitive one.
Anni Mikkonen – Finnish Wind Power Association
There were only a few Finnish stands at the EWEA OFFSHORE 2011 conference in Amsterdam, but several Finnish participants were listening to the interesting presentations, visiting the stands and meeting colleagues during the exhibition.
By Tuuliki Kasonen, General Manager, Estonian Wind Power Association
Initially planned as a modest information exchange seminar, the Wind Power Conference held in Estonia in the end of October turned into an international wind energy conference. More than 150 people visited the event during the two days dedicated to wind energy in Tallinn. In addition to local participants there were visitors also from Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Belgium and Denmark.
With more than 20 experts giving presentations about social, visual and economical aspects of wind energy the conference culminated with the currently most debated topic in Estonia – why and how much should wind energy be supported. The event was organised in cooperation with the Estonian and Swedish Wind Energy Associations (EWPA & SVIF) and supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
20 October 2011
The European Commission yesterday unveiled a €9.1 billion plan to modernise and extend Europe’s energy infrastructure to help meet Europe’s climate and energy needs. The announcement was widely covered by the media.
“This is the very first time that the EU is co-financing the construction of large energy infrastructure from its regular budget,” the Commission said.
EU affairs website Euractiv reported that the money will be made available under the proposed EU budget for 2014 – 2020 “in the form of newly-minted project bonds, grants and loan guarantees.” These will be awarded to projects of ‘common interest’ – i.e. spanning at least two EU countries.