WindLogics CEO Mark Ahlstrom, along with other WindLogics staff, recently attended the European Wind Energy Conference 2008 in Brussels. The driving force of the conference was the European Union’s 2020 renewable energy target, with wind energy expected to provide a full 12 % of the electricity supply to the EU within the next 12 years.
“With 57 GW of total wind capacity online, the EU is well-positioned to meet this aggressive goal,” said Mark. “Their breadth of research effort and operating experience gives them great momentum.”
“During the conference, we saw considerable interest and activity in combining modeling and remote sensing such as LIDAR technologies. While it will take ongoing R&D and cost reductions, the scientific and technical presentations showed that these technologies will eventually be used for better understanding of the wind resource.”
“Portfolio theory and methods of mitigating the risk were also covered in multiple presentations,” Mark added. “Developers and investors alike need accurate long-term analysis to guide management of existing wind plants as well as investment decisions for proposed facilities.”
Attendance at EWEC 2008 exceeded 6,000, with over 200 exhibitors. EWEC 2009 will be held in Marseille in March 2009. For more information on both conferences, please visit http://www.ewec2008.info.
