Pre-conference events and the opening of the exhibition hall will be held on Monday 11 April 2011.
"Wind generation has grown more than ten fold in less than a decade,”said Fraser Clark, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. “At the same time the wind industry has transitioned from being supported by carbon credits to competing on its own merits directly in the electricity market."
"New wind farms are being built because they generate electricity at a price that is competitive in today's market -- without government support or subsidies. This is a unique global achievement," Clark said.
Over $300 million has been invested in new wind farms in New Zealand over the last 18 months. Wind farms currently supply 4 percent of the nation’s electricity.
"We have the elements we need to build on this activity and create a successful, sustainable wind energy industry: resource, demand, technology, capability,” Clark said. “Our challenge is to make the most of these to create an industry that adds even greater value to New Zealand's economy."
Keynote speaker Mathias Steck, Regional Manager of GL Garrad Hassan Asia, will share insights into the wind energy markets and the turbine manufacturers in China and India. Other international and NZ speakers at the conference, including Klaus Baggesen Hilger, senior innovation manager at Dong Energy, and Jitendra Shah, advisor with the Regional and Sustainable Development Department of the Asian Development Bank, will explore what lies behind the industry's success to-date, and how its potential can be realised.
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