WWEA celebrates 20th anniversary

On 1 July 2001, a group of wind energy supporters from around the world met in Copenhagen in order to prepare the 1st World Wind Energy Conference which was scheduled to take place one year later in Berlin. At that meeting, the participants from around the world voiced their support to create an international association dedicated to the promotion of wind power and connecting the wind energy community around the world. 

Accordingly, eight organisations decided spontaneously to found the World Wind Energy Association and agreed on the five WWEA Working Principles which have guided WWEA’s work and  still guide our operations today. Dr. Preben Maegaard was elected as the Founding President, and Stefan Gsänger was appointed as the Secretary of the newborn association. Dr. Hermann Scheer, Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy, attended the founding meeting and strongly welcomed the new organisation. 

Within the following weeks and months, dozens of additional organisations decided to join WWEA. Today, WWEA has more than 600 members in over 100 countries, and including national associations, smaller and larger enterprises, as well as scientific organisations. 

 

Within three years after its creation, WWEA became one of the initiators of the successful REN Alliance, with the slogan of “Renewables working together”. WWEA co-founded REN21 and was represented in the drafting Committee and afterwards with long term service on the Bureau.  With ISES and IHA and later the IGA and the WBA the WWEA also became a strong proponent of the initiative to create the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and contributed to overcome some of the major initial barriers. 
 
Later on, WWEA, together with other organisations, created the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform which brought the topic of a 100% renewable energy supply on the global agenda – this new paradigm has been adopted as of today as the official goal of an increasing number of countries.