The Basque wind energy industry, at the cutting edge of European renewables, showcases its potential at Wind Europe in Amsterdam

• 17 Basque companies are taking part in the trade fair under the Basque Country Wind Energy brand and are showcasing their own technological capacities and first-rate ancillary services.
• Minister Arantxa Tapia announced that WindEurope 2019 will be held at the BEC and is expected to attract over 8,000 professionals and 500 companies worldwide.

A large Basque delegation is at Europe's most important wind energy fair, which is held every two years, to showcase the sector's capacity and potential. This Basque industry delegation is made up of a total of 17 companies and technology corporations, project development, ancillary service and research entities.  They will exhibit their differentiated offer and their capacities through the wind energy value chain, from planning and implementing the project, providing technology and manufacturing all sections of the wind turbine, along with operating and maintenance of the onshore and offshore wind farms.

The Basque Government's Minister for Economic Development and Infrastructures, Arantxa Tapia, took part in WindEurope and had the opportunity to see for herself the Basque exhibitors' top-level technological solutions at the stand organised by the Basque Energy Board-EVE (Basque Country-Wind Energy).  Companies associated with the Energy Cluster are there showcasing their own technological developments, along with the capacities of a whole network of ancillary service companies to operate, manage and for the maintenance of onshore and offshore wind farms.

During her visit, the Minister went around the fair and visited the Euskadi-Basque Country stand,  where  Kimua Group, Regenblade, Supra, ErrekaFastening Solutions, Laulagun Bearings, Ormazabal, Haizea Wind Group, Maxwind Technology, Saitec Offshore Technologies share space, along with the WindBox and BiMEP research centres. The Minister also meet with the Basque companies Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Nem Solutions, Hine, Ingeteam and Global Energy Services (GES) which have their own stand at the fair.

The Euskadi-Basque Country stand, organised by the Basque Country through the EVE and assisted by the Energy Cluster, was one of the focal points of the day, During the reception at midday, Giles Bickson, CEO of the European Wind Energy Association, thanked the Basque Country for its commitment to the development of this sector with very good prospects for the future.

The Minister closed the event and thanked the Basque companies for being in Amsterdam.  She went on to stress the extremely high technological and industrial levels that the Basque wind energy industry has achieved. There are 105 companies currently working in the wind energy industry in the Basque Country.  They employ 15,000 people, around 1000 of whom are involved in research and development. The sector has a turnover of EUR 7,322 million. The Minister stressed the importance and strength of the value chain of the Basque wind energy industry.

The Basque Government's Energy Strategy has set ambitious targets for developing renewable energy sources by 2030.  It aims to triple the use of renewables, meaning that they will account for 21% of the final energy consumption in the Basque Country. Renewables currently cover  7% of the Basque energy needs and the aim is therefore to increase its stake by 126%.

The EVE General Manager, Iñigo Ansola, stressed that the Basque energy policy is fully in line with the background that has made fairs like Amsterdam or the future event at the BEC possible, as "the development of renewable energies is a priority in our day-to-day work, particularly in view of the clout of the Basque industrial fabric that has been positioned as a leader when offering competitive and technological solutions in this sector".

The Basque Country stand has also become one of the meeting points of the sector, as, apart from the talks planned during the three-day fair, b2b meetings are being held between companies and possible customers.

Today's session will culminate with the gala dinner at the Amsterdam Maritime Museum, which will be attended by the representatives of the leading companies of the European wind energy sector.  Minister Arantxa Tapia will give an official speech and invite the sector to attend the new WindEurope fair to be held at Bilbao Exhibition Center from 2 to 4 April.

WindEurope is the leading conference and exhibition organised by the European Wind Energy Association and a benchmark event for the whole sector.,From 28 to 30 November, the event will attract over 8000 professional delegates from the sector's leading firms worldwide, who will be able to visit over 500 stands in the exhibition, to the RAI Amsterdam convention centre.