German Minister of Economics and Energy to Open WindEnergy Hamburg

The wind industry worldwide will be watching very closely what happens in Hamburg in almost exactly four months’ time – WindEnergy Hamburg has its premiere at the Hamburg Fair site from 23 to 26 September. 

“Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, will open WindEnergy Hamburg. That underscores the importance of this leading industry fair as the global platform for the wind industry, onshore and offshore,” said Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO Hamburg Messe und Congress, at the advance press conference held in Hamburg, the wind industry capital, on Thursday.

Some 1,000 exhibitors from more than 30 countries will present their innovations and services during the four days of WindEnergy Hamburg, on a total of 65,000 square metres of exhibition space. More than 15 national pavilions will each provide a showcase for wind industry companies from their country. There will be presentations from wind energy markets from Denmark to the USA and China. Numerous visitor delegations are also expected at WindEnergy Hamburg in September, e.g. from Brazil and Japan.

“The industry will give an impressive presentation at WindEnergy Hamburg of what it is doing for innovative solutions and sustainable energy supply,” said Bernd Aufderheide. The innovative strength of plant manufacturers and equipment suppliers was one of the main subjects of the advance press conference. The focus was on new developments which make power generation from wind even more efficient both onshore and offshore. “The wind industry is well known for being driven by technological progress,” said Andreas Nauen, Chairman of the Wind Industry Division of VDMA (German Engineering Federation) and CEO Senvion SE. It knows which route to take, based on studies of cost reduction potentials.

Volker Malmen, Managing Director and CFO Dong Energy in Germany, pointed out the vital role of offshore wind energy: “Increased use of offshore wind energy gives high energy yield because it is a steady source of power, and at the same time it reduces system costs. The steady rate of generating permits substantial systemic savings in storage and in compensation energy.” He also gave an example of new developments in the offshore sector: “Alongside larger turbines with greater yield, this is mainly about innovation in the installation of large components. Thus we are working on new foundation types aimed at reducing installation costs.”

Andreas Nauen stressed the fundamental importance of offshore to complement onshore energy: “With the peak-load hours and the ideal wind conditions that we find in the North Sea, the energy we generate is comparable with that of a conventional power station. For us not to use these ideal conditions would be like Saudi Arabia not producing oil.”

Leopold Greipl, Managing Director VDMA, Wind Industry Working Group, referred to the role of the equipment supply industry, in close partnership with the turbine manufacturers. He stressed that they were producing global innovations for sustainable cost reduction, and steadily improving turbine availability. Examples of this were innovative condition monitoring systems, sensors, control concepts and also lubricating systems.

Key subjects at WindEnergy Hamburg will include the “Energiewende” (Energy Transition) in Germany as a leading technology nation, and the important role of wind energy in implementing that. “Many countries are looking towards Germany and watching how this highly developed industry is handling the Energiewende, including exit from nuclear power,” said Leopold Greipl.

Hermann Albers, President German Wind Energy Association (BWE), said: “Hamburg will show the government in Germany very impressively that onshore wind energy is the low-cost driver of the Energiewende.” He believes it is essential for the countries of Europe to set binding, ambitious climate action goals in order to give wind good perspectives for the future in Europe. In addition, he felt it was vital to “stop dependency on fossil energy imports from insecure regions.” At the same time such goals would strengthen the value chain in Europe.

Storage of wind energy will also be an important subject at the leading global expo. H2Expo will be held in parallel to WindEnergy Hamburg, showing ways to integrate renewables in the energy market, and providing solutions for storage and mobility. WindEnergy Hamburg also gives a whole range of information and networking opportunities. The “Forum” in Hall B6 will features experts with presentations on the current developments in the industry. The Recruiting Day on Friday 26 September will focus on job and career opportunities in the wind industry.