CEOs to Debate Strategies to Enable Sustainable Energy Solutions to Achieve Parity with Traditional Energy Sources.
· Global energy CEOs from UAE, USA, France, UK, Germany, Denmark and Russia to discuss potential business drivers for renewable energy industry at WFES 2011 as it emerges renewable energy capacity growth now exceeds non-renewable growth in the US and Europe
· International keynote speaker to share insights into how businesses can use sustainability to drive business growth
Abu Dhabi, Reed Exhibitions, the world’s leading events organiser, and organiser of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi from 17-20 January 2011, has today confirmed the names of key speakers for the important WFES 2011 Business Forum taking place on the summit’s second day. The announcement comes as it emerges that both the US and Europe are now adding more power capacity per year from renewable sources than conventional sources.
In 2009, for the second year in a row, both the US and Europe added more power capacity from renewable sources such as wind and solar than from conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear, according to twin reports launched by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) [1]. The Business Forum at WFES on 18 January will focus on the drivers of this industry growth, commercialisation issues and obstacles faced by the industry in deploying renewable energy solutions.
The Business Forum is therefore a crucial element of the WFES 2011 agenda, bringing together the Executive Suite of some of the world’s biggest companies in the future energy industry, including Total, Schneider Electric, Alstom, BP Alternative Energy, Suntech Power, Vestas, BASF and Deutsche Asset management, as they seek to overcome the barriers to achieving wide spread ‘break through’ success for sustainable energy solutions.
Frederic Theux, President, Reed Exhibitions, commented, “Business leaders are an integral part of the renewable energy value chain. They form the crucial link between policy makers and technology innovators by commercialising renewable energy projects and discussing with authorities feasible operating regulations to hasten renewable energy deployment globally. With the news that the US and Europe are now adding more power capacity from renewable energy sources than non-renewables, this is more pertinent than ever, and it can only be a matter of time before other countries follow suit.”
The Business Forum will commence with the Business Leader’s Keynote Address by Truman Semans, Principal at GreenOrder, USA, and Former Executive Committee member of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a CEO-led coalition of corporations and NGOs working with Congress to pass federal climate policies. Mr. Semans will discuss how business can scale and deliver complex and efficient energy solutions for tomorrow’s world. He will describe how new market opportunities favour innovative new partnerships between energy companies, chemical giants, global banks and IT specialists to deliver truly comprehensive approaches.
GreenOrder helps some of the world’s leading corporations achieve competitive advantage through environmental innovation, including GE and their award-winning ecomagination initiative, General Motors, Duke Energy, DuPont and Pfizer.
Commenting on his participation in the Business Forum, Truman Semans said, “”There are great opportunities today for leaders in business, government and civil society to work together in tackling complex energy and environment challenges through innovation – not just innovation in terms of technology, but also through forging new kinds of business models and new types of public-private collaboration. Innovation like this requires deep change for most governments and companies – rewiring the way they connect internally, as well as how they relate with each other externally.”
The “Business Leaders in Renewable Energy – Insights from the Executive Suite” panel discussion will then commence featuring:
Andrew Beebe, Chief Commercial Officer, Suntech Power – USA
Philippe Boisseau, President, Total Oil and Gas Division – France
Tom Curtis, Managing Director, Deutsche Asset Management – USA
Ditlev Engel, Global CEO, Vestas – Denmark
Philippe Joubert, Executive VP, Alstom – France
Tilman Krauch, President Construction Chemicals, BASF SE – Germany
Katrina Landis, CEO, BP Alternative Energy – UK
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President & CEO, Schneider Electric – USA
Rene Umlauft, CEO Renewable Energy Siemens – Germany
Artem Volynets, First Deputy General Director, EN+ Group, Russia
Frank Wouters, Director, Masdar Power – UAE
The main session during the Business Forum will be followed by multiple sessions and master classes on different topics including, green cities, e-mobility, wind energy, green buildings and how businesses can use international energy policies to drive growth. Notable session chairs include: Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of Global Wind Energy Council chairing a “What’s Next for the Wind Industry” session; Pierre Loing, VP Product Planning & Zero Emission Business from Nissan International who will chair a session on “e-Mobility – On the Cusp of Deployment”; Dan Vermeer, Executive Director of Centre for Energy, Development and the Global Environment at Duke University chairing the “Green Cities: Planning & Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities” session; and Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) addressing the topic “Global Energy Policy – How Policy is being Implemented in Developed and Developing Nations”.
Mr Theux concluded, “WFES is the only event that brings together policy makers and business decision makers from the public and private sectors. The Business Forum on Day Two provides the ideal opportunity for these two groups to come together to find tomorrow’s solutions to today’s energy problems. We look forward to welcoming them to Abu Dhabi.”
Held under the Patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed forces and hosted by Masdar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Company focused on advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy and clean technology solutions, the World Future Energy Summit themed ‘enabling future energy solutions’ will run from 17-20 January 2011 and comprises the four day conference, alongside two exhibitions – a World Future Energy Exhibition and World Future Environment Exhibition that will be attended by more than 600 exhibitors from around 40 countries.