Financing Wind Europe and the Wind Investment Awards 2021

This year, we will be delivering our Financing Wind Europe conference and Wind Investment Awards programme as one, big 1-day event!This digital programme will provide you with the perfect opportunity to meet, connect with and celebrate the best people and companies working in the global wind market.

Now more than ever, we are looking forward to celebrating best practice in the wind industry and help it to thrive in the coming years while enabling top industry players to forge strong business connections.The event will be exclusively for our members – the key decision-makers in global wind!

‘A Tale of Two Markets’

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We are seeing a divergence between the fortunes of the offshore wind and onshore wind markets in Europe.

In offshore wind, we have seen a string of exciting developments in 2020 and 2021. Multi-gigawatt projects are reaching financial close, emerging markets are opening up, turbines are growing, and oil giants are moving in. It is a time of great optimism.

In onshore wind, however, the future is less clear. The market is active – turbines of 8.2GW were ordered onshore in 2020 – but more must be done if onshore wind is to be a key part of Europe’s ‘green recovery’ from the Covid-19 crisis. Developers and investors are facing tortuous permitting processes and uncertain growth pipelines.

In Financing Wind Europe 2021, we will talk to the leading players in European wind to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the industry in the post-Covid world.

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Registration will open shortly. Held in partnership with the Wind Investment Awards 2021.

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Agenda

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09:00 (30min) - Breakfast Networking - Roundtable: Wind investment trends

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09:30 (10min) - Organiser’s Welcome Keynote Presentation

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09:40 (10min) - FWEU Headline Sponsor’s Welcome Keynote Presentation (UL)

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09:50 (10min) - WIA Headline Sponsor’s Welcome (Vestas)

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10:00 (45min) - Panel Discussion: Onshore wind in Europe

This discussion focuses on the prospects for wind investors in Europe as they seek to take advantage of green recovery policies while facing challenges with permitting and project profitability. Key questions are likely to include:

• How can we ensure onshore wind is central to Europe’s green recovery?
• What is the best that wind companies can expect from the COP26 talks?
• Are tortuous permitting processes the biggest problem for wind investors?
• Which are the most exciting markets for investors in the next three years?
• How can investors unlock more value from projects in a squeezed market?

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10:45 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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10:55 (30 min) - Fireside Chat: Institutional investment

This discussion will look at how institutional investors in the wind industry in Europe will need to change strategy over the next 3-5 years in response to trends we have seen since the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Key questions are likely to include:

• How will a potential influx of oil giants influence project finance strategies?
• Is the composition of investors in wind changing as project risks reduce?
• Will growing appetite for renewables drive a fresh wave of corporate M&A?

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11:25 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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11:35 (30min) - Networking Coffee Break – Roundtable: Unlocking inward investment: What does European wind need to do to attract more investment from overseas?

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12:05 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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12:15 (45min) - Panel Discussion: Offshore wind in Europe

This discussion focuses on the fast-growing offshore wind market in Europe, where we are seeing high demand from oil giants and rapid change in turbine sizes, project sizes and fees. How will this affect investment. Key questions are likely to include:

• Which are the most exciting markets for investors in the next three years?
• What does the £6bn financial close at Dogger Bank say about the market?
• Are corporate PPAs now a central part of the European offshore wind sector?
• Are high ‘option fees’ now a feature of the market? How will investors adapt?
• What will the UK’s CfD auction to tell us about the maturity of floating wind?
• Will an influx of oil firms shake up European offshore in the next three years?
• 13:00 (10min) Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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13:10 (30min) - Fireside Chat: Floating wind

This one-to-one interview gives us the opportunity to get into greater depth about offshore wind – literally! We will discuss the commercialisation of floating wind and the evolution of the sector as oil giants get involved. When will we see this market opening up, and will the UK’s Contracts for Difference auction in 2021 show us the health of the sector.

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13:40 (60min) - Networking Lunch Break

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Roundtable 1 (30min): Impact of Brexit on energy markets and supply chains

Roundtable 2 (30min): Repowering strategies

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14:40 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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14:50 (30min) - Keynote Presentation

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15:20 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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15:30 (30min) - Networking Tea Break – Roundtable: Breaking the data deadlock

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16:00 (45min) - Panel Discussion – The power-to-X revolution

We use our final session of the day to look at the power-to-x technologies that companies in the wind sector need to factor into their investment strategies. By this, we mean technology including batteries, long-duration energy storage, and green hydrogen / ammonia.

• Is storage now a vital part of the strategies of wind companies?
• What impact is this likely to have on the portfolios of wind operators?
• How is the investment case for storage changing as the tech matures?
• Is Europe lagging the US, Australia and Asia-Pacific in the storage race?
• Is Nordic onshore wind key to producing green hydrogen at scale?

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16:45 (10min) - Wind Investment Awards Presentations

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16:55 (5min) - Closing Remarks

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17:00 (5min) - Event Ends