At EWEC this year there were a record 6,000 participants from 82 different countries. As EWEC 2008 drew to a close, EU Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik, awarded the wind energy sector's most prestigious prize, the Poul la Cour prize. This went to Jos Beurskens, from the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), for his outstanding achievements and many years' service in the field of wind energy. Afterwards, Belgium handed over the role as host of EWEC to France, where next year's conference will be held, in Marseille, on 16-19 March 2009.

Wind turbines are not only used to generate electricity but also, for example, for desalination of water. In our January/February issue we published an article about the floating turbine from the company Blue H Technologies. It is clear that other parties are also interested in this concept. Based on this concept, a floating, autonomous desalination unit has been designed and developed by a group of Greek companies, universities and research centres.

Last year the European Council agreed that the European Union will increase the share of renewable energy to 20% by the year 2020. The EU has adopted this share as a binding overall target for its Member States. These targets are very ambitious: today 8.5% of energy is renewable (of which wind energy is the biggest part). To achieve a 20% share by 2020 will require major efforts across all sectors of the economy and by all Member States. A European approach is needed to ensure that the effort for reaching the 20% target is shared equitably between Member States.

Last December, European Offshore Wind (EOW) took place in Berlin, Germany. After the first EOW organised by the Danish Wind Energy Association in 2005, the EWEA took over the organisation and turned it into a pan-European event which will be held every two years. The Berlin event was a great success, with more than 2,000 participants attending the sessions and 120 exhibitors offering a range of services and solutions in the fast-expanding offshore wind market. The next EOW will be in Stockholm, Sweden, from 14 to 16 September 2009.