Helsinki to Host Third WINDFORCE Baltic Sea Conference

In two days, more than 100 conference participants will get a comprehensive view of issues related to renewable energy production in the Baltic Sea at WINDFORCE Baltic Sea.

Eight theme sessions and 30 international speakers will deal with nearly everything in the value-adding chain, from research, installation and logistics to financing, grid connection and political support measures.

Pieter Jan Jordaens from the Belgian Offshore Wind Infrastructure Application Lab (OWI-Lab) will talk about their tests of offshore wind turbines at minus 60 degrees, a particular challenge in the Baltic.

E.ON will report on their recent experience installing Arkona Becken. Jerome Guillet, director of Green Giraffe Energy Bankers in France, will discuss the issue of financing offshore wind farms. As the host country, Finland will be the focus of an entire session of its own.

The conference is organised in cooperation with the Finnish Wind Power Association. Seven national wind energy associations in the Baltic region are contributing to a particularly interesting discussion, with leading representatives from Germany, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark and Sweden talking about the next steps to be taken in their countries.

As Jens Eckhoff, president of Germany’s Offshore Wind Energy Foundation and managing director of WINDFORCE, points out: “The development of offshore wind energy in these seven countries is vastly different. In a concentrated format, the conference will offer an excellent opportunity to find out more about these developments”.

The programme will provide time for speakers to talk personally with participants. The conference fee includes a dinner on the evening of the first day of the conference, not only inviting participants to enjoy Finnish culinary specialties but also giving them the chance to gain an impression of the beautiful city of Helsinki.