Given the right political conditions, wind energy could supply the world with 13 per cent of its power needs – and save the atmosphere an additional 1,500 million tons of CO2.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), an international union of major players in the wind energy market, hopes to bring this fact and others to light with its campaign ‘Wind Energy Works’.
ShowcaseThe Danish Wind Energy Association, one of the initiators of the council, stated on its website:
“The 2009 UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen COP15 is a unique opportunity for the industry to promote wind energy solutions. Global politicians and leaders are gathered to agree on how to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to create a more sustainable world. The world will be watching.”
Wind turbine of the monthThe global campaign will be launched in December 2008 in connection with the COP 14 Conference in Poznan in Poland and culminate at the COP 15 Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December 2009.
Among the project’s ideas: presenting a different wind energy facility every month which supports the slogan ‘Wind Power Works’.
COWI is among the more than 33 international companies and organisations which are contributing to the project.
Matches COWI’s climate strategyMarc Normann, COWI’s market manager on energy matters, explained that COWI’s involvement in the project is in keeping with the company’s strategic efforts in climate and wind energy.
“We would like to support the message that wind energy is part of the global climate solution,” he stated.
Normann is especially pleased that the campaign will present a new wind turbine project every year.
“Local, regional and global decision makers will have an easier time relating to a wind energy project that comes from their region of the world and which includes a visual aspect,” he said. “Photographers from National Geographic have just been dispatched to the chosen windmill projects to take the best photos.”
He added: “Without saying too much, I can reveal that COWI has been involved in several of the projects which from December 2008 have been chosen to be ‘wind turbine of the month’.”
By Kathrine Schmeichel, kats@cowi.dk Published: 13.10.2008