Polish Wind Energy Association Conference

„Wind Energy Market in Poland”, 19.04.2010

Szczecin, 21.04.2010

The PWEA ”Wind Energy Market in Poland” Conference was held on 19 April in the Hilton Hotel in Warsaw. This was the fifth Conference organized by the Polish Wind Energy Association.

The event was an extraordinary success, attracting a significant number of persons interested in the wind energy market in Poland. The Conference was attended by more than 700 participants, what is a great success given the closure of the European airspace during the event. Among the invited guests were representatives of the Government, the Parliament, scientists, representatives of media and companies interested in the rapid development of the wind power sector in Poland. Honorary Patronage over the event was assumed by Chairman of the European Parliament, Professor Jerzy Buzek. Furthermore, the Conference was subject to the honorary patronage of Ministry of Economy, Ministry of the Environment and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark.

This year’s edition of the PWEA Conference was unique, for it was part of the European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC 2010) organized in Warsaw by the European Wind Energy Association with strong support from the PWEA. The PWEA Conference was held on the eve of EWEC2010, on 19 April 2010, and was dedicated to the development of the wind energy market in Poland.

The V^th PWEA Conference was opened by PWEA President, Mr. Jarosław Mroczek, who welcomed the participants expressing an opinion that the Conference will contribute to the wind power industry’s trust in the future, backed up by the support and serious interest of politicians, officials and decision-makers of every tier.

The V^th PWEA Conference comprised 16 thematic panels discussing a wide spectrum of issues related to the wind power sector, attended by more than 64 moderators and speakers.

The participants paid particular attention to the National Power System panel, where representative of the transmission grid operator, President Jerzy Andruszkiewicz presented the grid’s capacity to connect no more than 6000 MW of wind power. This statement was challenged by another speaker, Mr. Franciszek Buchta, Director of Energy Management and Conservation Agency, who presented results of studies demonstrating much higher connection capacity for wind power than presented by the President of PSE-Operator. In accordance with Director F. Buchta “wind capacity that could be connected to the current system amounts to almost 13 thousand MW” – which is almost twice as much as declared by PSE-Operator. Furthermore, Mr. Buchta stated that „10+ thousand MW may be connected with insignificant investment, mostly limited to increasing conductors’ working temperature to 60 deg. C”

A press conference with PWEA President, Mr. Jarosław Mroczek was also held during the event. The Government of the Republic of Poland was represented by Mrs.  Joanna Strzelec-Łobodzińska, Undersecretary of the State in Ministry of Economy. The press conference was to present the latest information concerning the wind power sector as well as current development trends in Poland and Europe for the years to come.

The PWEA Conference was crowned with a ceremonial Gala Dinner, enabling the participants to establish new business contacts, exchange opinions and experience and discuss current problems of the wind power sector. During the Gala Dinner Undersecretary of the State in Ministry of Economy, Mrs. Joanna Strzelec-Łobodzińska awarded on behalf of PWEA the IREW prize for the most interesting and honest text featuring wind power.

The main prize was awarded to Mr. Piotr Cieśliński from Gazeta Wyborcza; distinctions were awarded to Mrs. Magdalena Krowicka and Mr. Przemysław Chudy, whose article was published in „Ekologia Przemysłowa”, and to Mr. Tomasz Zubilewicz, presenter of the TVN television.

EWEC2010 was held on the following days. The event was inaugurated by a joint PWEA and EWEA opening session. The opening speeches were made by Mr. Jarosław Mroczek, President of the Polish Wind Energy Association, Mr.  Arthouros Zervos, President of the European Wind Energy Association, and representative of the Government, Mr.  Marcin Korolec, Vice-Minister in Ministry of Economy. The Minister said that “in accordance with our estimates, in 2020 wind power installed capacity will amount to approximately 6000 MW”.

Furthermore, wind power development in the EU and Poland and a general vision of the sector’s development in Europe by 2050 were presented during the opening session.

The EWEC2010 will continue until Friday, 23 April 2010.

More information:

www.konferencja2010.psew.pl

Media contacts:

Ewa Kurdyła

Tel. +48 91 48 62 532
fax: +48 91 48 62 538

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