On April 5, 2022, the largest WindEurope’s conference and exhibition of the European wind industry was opened in Bilbao, Spain. Over 8,000 people took part with 330 companies from across the wind value chain exhibiting. Upon withdrawal from russian energy sources, ministers and policymakers from around Europe along with industry leaders, investors, technology experts and NGOs discussed the future of Europe’s energy security. The event also presented the latest wind energy technology developments, including recycling, and feature start-ups.
His Majesty the King of Spain opened the event with the President of the Basque Government, Ministers from Spain, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Romania and Lithuania and top officials from the EU Commission.
Giles Dickson, WindEurope CEO: “WindEurope 2022 in Bilbao comes at a decisive moment for Europe. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has upended the energy system. Europe is pursuing a new energy policy: less dependence on imported fossil fuels; and an accelerated transition to renewables.”
Special attention during the opening ceremony was paid to Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the UWEA Board, and Galina Schmidt, member of the UWEA Board, who attended the event on behalf of the Ukraine’s wind power market. Since the key focus of all discussions was devoted to russia’s war against Ukraine, a special workshop devoted to Ukraine “The status of Ukraine’s wind power sector before and after the war” was conducted by the UWEA. Andriy Konechenkov presented the status of wind energy market in Ukraine as of the end of 2021 and analysed the impact of the war on the national wind market, while Galina Shmidt focused on the entire power system of Ukraine. Kateryna Knysh, Head of the UWEA’s Analytical Department, who participated online, provided a forecast of wind power development after the war, focusing on the prospects for offshore wind power.
Peter A. Gish, Founder of Ukraine Power Resources, Alexander Podprugin, Operating Director at Elementum Energy and Peter Czopek, Director of the Polish Wind Energy Association, also were among the distinguished speakers of the event. Peter A. Gish shared his experience in working in Ukraine, Alexander Podprugin spoke about challenges in generating wind and solar electricity in the close approximate to the hostilities, while Peter Czopek presented the joint Ukrainian-Polish employment platform Work4Wind.
“Today is the 41 day of war against my country. Ukraine is the focus of attention of the whole world, as Ukrainians defend European values: freedom and independence,” with these words Andriy Konechenkov started the workshop. “As you can see, 88% of wind generation out of 1,673 MW is concentrated in four northern regions of Ukraine: Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa, where russian troops are conducting especially aggressive actions now, in particular, destroying renewable energy facilities”.
Alexander Podprugin added that out of 576 MW of the company’s “green” projects, 35 MW turned out to be in the territories occupied by russian aggressor, and 347 MW – in the territory of active hostilities. “Before the aggressor’s invasion, our company was actively constructing the second phase of the Dnistrovska wind farm in the Odesa region with a capacity of 60 MW. Now we have no idea when we will resume our work. Nevertheless, the main focus of our company is still clear – to ensure the safe work of our employees who are at the power plants and to defend our facilities,” Mr. Podprugin said.
“We work in Ukraine since 2017. Since 2020, we have begun to cooperate with Elementum Energy on the construction of a wind farm in Odesa region. Throughout this time, I was struck by the openness of Ukrainian society, the willingness of locals to cooperate and help in the construction of “green” projects. Today, Ukrainians assert their right to energy independence and the ability to move on with renewable energy. I’m pretty sure that we will resume our work in this beautiful country as soon as possible,” told Peter A. Gish.
In her speech, Galina Shmidt stressed: “russia is acting as a nuclear terrorist that threatens the whole world with a nuclear catastrophe. Russia despicably occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest NPP in Europe. As you know, no nuclear power plant is designed for war. So, if a site is purposefully or accidentally shelled the building, which houses the nuclear reactor is hit, not only Ukraine but russia and Europe will suffer as well.”
Peter Czopek noted: “Since 24 February, 2022, more then 2.5 million of people fled from Ukraine to Poland to find the security and help. We decided to help them to find jobs and, in turn, to show them that they are needed here and that they can start a new life here. So, together with our colleagues from Ukraine we create a project “Work4Wind”, the main purpose of which is to connect people from Ukraine with wind companies which need new workers, new employees.”
Finally, Kateryna Knysh quoted Franklin Roosevelt: “More than just an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars, even energy,” she said. “Thanks to this war and unfortunately for russia, Ukraine has become even more open to foreign investments. One of the promising areas for this is offshore wind energy, which will not only increase Ukraine’s energy security, but also open the way for Europe to stable and significant imports of “green” hydrogen.” Kateryna concluded.
Videos devoted to Zaporizhzhya WPP by Eurocape Ukraine I LLC and Novotroitska WPP by Vindkraft Ukraine LLC became a bright addition to the event.
Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iRSqjydwGo
