Wind Today - Q4 2008 - (Page 8) Events Fast Forward to Wind CanWEA’s 24th Annual Conference and T rade Show Exceeds Previous Y ear’s Record More than 2,000 delegates and 200 exhibitors gathered at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Center in Vancouver, BC, Canada, October 19-22 for Fast Forward to Wind: CanWEA’s 24th Annual Conference and Trade Show. These attendance figures exceed the record-setting attendance last year of more than 1,500 delegates and 160 exhibitors. This year’s conference featured warm welcomes from area hosts, four plenary sessions, a major new vision announcement, and three different tracks of technical sessions. Ceremonies Opening Ceremonies During opening ceremonies on Monday, Oct. 19, Squamish Chief Ian Campbell, representing the Squamish Nation, welIan Campbell comed conference delegates to the First Nation’s territories. Stan Hagan, BC Minister of Agriculture and Lands, also welcomed conference attendees with a message about BC’s recognition of the need for and opportunities presented by wind energy. Following opening ceremonies, Robert Hornung, CanWEA president, introduced the association’s new Wind Vision 2025—Powering Canada’s Future document. Stan Hagan “It’s time to start thinking big,” said Hornung as he summarized the plan for wind energy to satisfy 20% of Canada’s electricity demand by 2025. “Wind Vision 2025 is real and achievable,” he continued. (See page 38 for Wind Vision 2025 summary.) lenary Plenary Sessions Four plenary sessions featured stakeholders who provided their perspectives on the future of the wind industry in Canada. On Monday, CanWEA Board Chair Joyce McLean facilitated a discussion between wind industry executives regarding the importance of the wind vision document as well as challenges the industry will face in implementing the vision. Tuesday’s first plenary, “Government Perspectives on Wind Energy: A Ministers’ Forum,” brought together government leaders who presented some of their goals and incentives related to wind energy in their jurisdictions. Tuesday’s second plenary session, “Wind on the Grid: A Utility Leaders’ Forum,” featured utility leaders who discussed challenges and opportunities related to adding wind power to the electric grid in Canada. The final plenary session, “Wind in Society: A Stakeholders’ Forum,” held on Wednesday, featured representatives of the Pembina Institute, Equiterre, and The Globe and Mail. These representatives of environmental and journalistic organizations discussed societal impacts of wind energy. Each day of the conference also featured technical sessions related to wind energy development, trends in research and development, and business issues. r Show T ade Show Among the 200 exhibitors who participated in the trade show were representatives of wind-related manufacturers, associations, and suppliers from all over the world. Confer erence 25th Annual Conference r Show and T ade Show CanWEA’s 25th Annual Conference and Trade Show has been scheduled for September 20-23, 2009, in Toronto, ON. 8 WIND TODA Y Fourth Quarter 2008
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