Looking back two weeks after Global Wind Power Day, 15 June, it is great to see just how many countries and organisations took part to celebrate one of the cleanest renewable energy sources in the world, wind power.
From concerts in the newest country to join the EC, Croatia, to boat trips to offshore wind farms in Japan, to a comic workshop in Argentina, there were hundreds of activities- some Government-led, others almost spontaneous celebrations from small communities wanting to show their support.
25,000 people have already shown their preference for wind energy over polluting fossil fuels by ‘Liking’ the Global Wind Day app which calls on eight world leaders such as Angela Merkel and Barack Obama to stop giving six times more money to coal, oil and gas than to renewables. The app allowed you to choose which G8 leader, prior to their meeting on 17-18 June, you most want to tell to switch to renewable energy now.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres supported Global Wind Day:. She said:
“The extensive and scaled-up deployment of wind energy and other forms of renewable energy needs to play a central role in this transformation [to a low-carbon economy].”
Global Wind Day 2013 was supported by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Irish Ambassador to the EU Tom Hanney said:
“Wind is a very important resource for Ireland and an increasing one, so therefore we support Global Wind Day”.
Global Wind Day is an annual event organised by the European Wind Energy Association and the Global Wind Energy Council.
Of the 200 events worldwide for Global Wind Day 2013, some were organised close enough to Brussels that European Wind Energy Association staff were themselves able to visit. The wind farm WaseWind, close to Antwerp was one such location. There they met hordes of local school kids and their teachers, who had cycled there to inspect the turbines for themselves.
Peter Sennekamp, the media officer for the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) that wind energy will surpass the threshold of 300 gigawatts, or 300,000 megawatts at some point before the end of 2013. Total wind energy capacity reached 280 gigawatts by the end of last year when a record 44 gigawatts were installed worldwide. Chine led the way in 2012, adding over 13 gigawatts of wind energy. This was enough to officially surpass coal energy generation for the first time in the country’s history.
Tata Power is India’s largest integrated power company. They have announced their wind energy future plans. They plan to add 150-200 megawatts every year moving forward as part of a long-term sustainability initiative for the country. While the bulk of their renewable energy plans remain focused on solar power, Phase II of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission will also include the introduction of an offshore wind energy department, where research will begin this year. Government research indicated that they accepted the new department because the cost-effectiveness of pursuing offshore wind was comparable to conventional fossil fuel generation for the first time in India. That’s welcome news!
