Following the close of COP29 at the weekend, wind industry heavyweights and government energy leaders are gathering in Incheon, South Korea, for the launch of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)'s flagship APAC Wind Energy Summit.
This year, GWEC has partnered with the Korea Wind Energy Industry Association (KWEIA) for the Summit's second edition to deliver a programme that will greatly benefit and scale up the local wind energy industry in South Korea; a country with the potential to play a leading role in the APAC region's enormous wind energy growth if it capitalises on its supply chain strengths and advances policies which work with industry to ensure the country meets its 14.3 GW offshore wind installation goals by 2030. Corio, Equinor and Vestas are official Event Ambassadors for this year's edition and have played an active role as global leaders in the wind energy sector in shaping the programme.
Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC, said: "Having H.E. Won-shik Woo, member of Korea's National Assembly, who has been actively championing the energy transition in South Korea, as the Guest of Honour at GWEC's APAC Wind Energy Summit, alongside local policymakers and think tanks reflects the country's commitment and recognition of wind power as a critical solution to Korea's decarbonisation plans."
"The discussions at COP29 on the Great Wind RE-set echoes the same message - emerging markets like South Korea have a critical role to play in helping the world stay on course to meet the tripling of renewables targets by 2030. We need to take action now and the action is in the Asia-Pacific region. If we can't make it here, we can't do it anywhere else," he added.
Kim Hyung-geun, President of the Korea Wind Industry Association, said: "The APAC Wind Energy Summit welcomes high-level government officials from across 12 countries around the world as well as leading global renewable energy companies into South Korea. We are excited to showcase the capabilities of the local Korean wind industry on the global stage and seek ways to collaborate with global players so South Korea's wind industry can scale up."
The World Bank Group's Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) is a key partner at the Summit and has brought government delegations from across the Asia Pacific region, such as from India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, to engage in high-level forums and closed-door discussions where delegates from will explore ways the region can improve collaboration to deliver on its huge potential.
GWEC will also launch its inaugural APAC Clean Energy Finance Summit on Day 2 of the event. This half-day track is co-partnered with the Asian Development Bank and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Besides regional collaboration, global investment in renewable energy generation is a key tool to help achieve the global tripling renewables target. The event will bring together experts from across the renewable energy, finance and project development value chain, as well as export credit agencies, development finance institutions, commercial banks, financial agencies and law firms to increase project investability and achieve ambitious, sustainable financing conditions for renewable energy in APAC.
The Summit runs for three days to 28 November 2024 at Incheon, Songdo ConvensiA. Find out more details about the Summit at www.apacwindenergysummit.kr.
