Belgium: EREC Names New President

During its Board Meeting on Friday, the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) elected a new President, Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, who replaces Arthouros Zervos, EREC’s founding President.

“After years of stable growth, renewables are now facing some difficulties in the current political and economic context”, explains Hinrichs-Rahlwes. “But Europe needs renewables and significant further growth of the sector, even more so in the current crisis”, he continues. “I am honoured to have the trust and backing of the renewable energy industry, trade and research associations members of EREC in order to ensure the transformation of the energy system that we need to see happen,” stated Hinrichs-Rahlwes.

During his professional career, Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes has developed a focus on energy and environmental issues, in particular the promotion of renewable energy technologies and related policies. He has experience working for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), where he served as Director General and was responsible for climate protection and renewable energy. Hinrichs-Rahlwes also is a Board Member of the German Renewable Energy Federation (Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energie, BEE) and is the President of EREC’s member association EREF, the European Renewable Energies Federation.

Hinrichs-Rahlwes is replacing EREC’s long-standing President, Professor Arthouros Zervos, who has more than 25 years of experience in the field of policy advice for renewable energy sources and who substantially contributed to the EU White Paper “Energy for the future: Renewable Sources of Energy” in 1997. Zervos is also President of the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and since December 2009, Zervos acts as President & CEO of Public Power Corp (PPC), Greece’s biggest electricity provider.

“It is a time for change and I am proud to hand over the Presidency of Europe’s leading sector in the energy field, renewable energy, to Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, whom I have known and worked with for many years, and who I believe is more than capable of taking the sector forward over the coming years”, stated Zervos.

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Offshore WIND staff, June 26, 2012; Image: European Commission