What?

For economic, environmental and social reasons, Europe needs to reduce its exposure to rising fuel prices and increased dependence on foreign energy supply. Large scale wind power is key to steering Europe towards an indigenous, clean, secure and affordable energy future, while reaping the economic opportunities of technology exports. Challenges need to be overcome to integrate significant amounts of wind power into the grid. The EWEA conference ‘Large Scale Integration of Wind Energy’ will focus on:

- Policy and business issues to develop an interconnected grid for Europe.
- Technical challenges to integrate more wind power into the European electricity grid.
- Infrastructure investments and financing.
- System studies and best practices.
- Transnational Offshore Grids.

The results of the conferences will provide answers to the European Council’s ambition to create a single European grid and the proposed Priority Interconnection Plan.

Who?

High level speakers and delegates from institutions, regulators, TSOs, ministries, utilities and industry will take part in the grid debates.

Among the speakers :

- Andris Piebalgs - Commissioner for Energy, European Commission
- Mechtild Rothe - MEP, European Parliament
- Claude Turmes – MEP, European Parliament
- Britta Thomsen – MEP, European Parliament
- Anne Laperrouze - MEP, European Parliament
- President EWEA : Arthouros Zervos, President, EWEA

- President ETSO : Daniel Dobbeni, President, ETSO
- Urban Rid - Director General, Ministry of Environment, Germany
- Sir John Mogg - ERGEG/CER, United Kingdom

When:

7 – 8 November 2006

Where:

Concert Noble, 82 rue d’Arlon
B-1040 Bruxelles

Who:

Organisers:
European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) – European Commission – European Transmission System Operators (ETSO)

Sponsors: ABB - Airtricity

More:

A press conference will take place 7 November at 11.00.

Technical and scientific aspects of large scale integration of wind energy will also be the subject of the “Sixth International Workshop on Large-Scale Integration of Wind Power and Transmission Networks for Offshore Wind Farms”. This event will be held in Delft (Netherlands) on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 October 2006. Programme and details are available at: http://www.offshoreworkshop.org/.