TPWind will be an indispensable forum for establishing policy and technology research and development pathways for the wind energy sector. It will also be a new opportunity for informal collaboration among Member States, including those less developed in wind energy terms. TPWind was launched on 19 October 2006 at the Charlemagne building. The presentations of this event, as well as a document outlining the platform’s vision are available on its website: http://www.windplatform.eu

In August 2006, the call for expressions of interest for membership of the Steering Committee was launched. The European Commission and the Advisory Council evaluated the applications. TPWind’s Steering Committee has now been selected – representation on the committee is balanced from both a geographical and sectoral point of view. EWEA President, Arthouros Zervos, is an honorary member of the Steering Committee. The final list is available on the platform’s website.

The first Steering Committee meeting took place in March 2007, in Brussels. There, the platform’s Terms of Reference were assessed and the Executive Committee was elected. The following representatives make up the committee:

Chairperson: Mr. Henning Kruse   (Siemens)
Vice-chairpersons:  Mr. Takis Chaviaropoulos  (CRES)  
                          Ms. Angeles Santamaría  (Iberdrola)    
Additional members: Mr. Christian Nath   (Germanischer Lloyd)
                            Mr. Josep Prats   (Ecotecnia)

The first action to be taken by the Executive Committee is to propose a list of potential Working Groups alongside the Steering Committee. Once the mandates of the working groups are established, a call for Expression of Interest will be launched. The deadline for setting up the Working Groups is October 2007, for a first meeting in November 2007.

Finance Working Group

The aim of the Finance Working Group is to explore opportunities for the funding of research infrastructures and demonstration activities. It will attempt to establish the approximate level of funding available from a complete range of sources, which can then be matched to the R&D priorities established by the Steering Committee. The call for Expression of Interest for this Group will be launched in May 2007.

Mr. Mauro Villanueva Monzón (Gamesa) has been elected as Chairperson of the Finance Working Group.

TPWind at EWEC

The progress made so far by the platform will be presented during a workshop at the EWEC 2007 conference. The TPWind workshop will take place on Wednesday, 9 May from 16:00 to 17:30. The agenda will be made available on the platform’s website.

For more information, please visit: http://www.windplatform.eu