Wind Power Asia 2009 - Record-breaking year for Asia's largest wind energy event

Koelnmesse, one of the world’s leading trade fair organizers, together with Unique International Exhibition Co., Ltd. and the China Machinery Management Enterprise Association (CMMA) today jointly announced that Asia’s largest wind power event, Wind Power Asia (WPA) 2009 has broken its records in both exhibition space and exhibitor numbers – four months ahead of the trade exhibition.

The sixth WPA will open its doors from 8 to 10 July 2009 at the China International Exhibition Center (CIEC) in Beijing, China. More than 260 exhibitors have confirmed their participation to-date, including 12 wind turbine manufacturers, surpassing the figure recorded on the same day last year. The show has also grown bigger in area, covering 24,000 sqm, against 23,000 sqm in 2008.

WPA 2009 will see the return of its loyal foreign exhibitors, including GE, ABB, Bachmann, Bosch Rexroth and Emerson. “WPA is a leading wind energy exhibition in Asia. With diversified exhibitors and quality visitors, the show offers a good platform for industrial communication and exchange in China. It is very helpful to our business development.” said Mr. Rick Chen, Market Development Manager of PPG Industries, Inc., a third-time exhibitor at WPA.

Participating as members of a CMMA-led contingent are China’s top wind turbine producers, Sinovel and DEC (DongFang). Visitors can also expect to meet leading international and domestic companies from various sectors that are making their debut appearance at the trade fair, like, OCV (composite), Rossi (power transmission), Stanley and Gedore (tools) and Glual (hydraulic). This year, WPA will be equally represented by local enterprises, as well as joint-venture companies and international brands.

Following the success of the WPA Conference in 2008 where 119 policy makers and industrial experts spoke at, the program this year will be held in conjunction with the Clean Energy Expo China Conference spearheaded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), along with CMMA. It is the event's first collaboration with both organizations.

CMMA's involvement aims to enhance the participation of key government policy makers, leading manufacturers, power companies and industry experts at a local level, while ADB’s long history of promoting greater investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy is targeted at the region. It is set to increase lending in the wind, solar energy, as well as the other sub-sectors to US$1 billion per year from 2008 to 2010

The partnership between ADB and WPA will greatly boost the wind energy development within the region; it will also promote the collaboration between financial institutions and the Chinese renewable energy sectors.

The three-day WPA Conference will be held at the Beijing Radisson SAS Hotel, adjacent to the trade exhibition at CIEC. Until March 2009, more than 50 experts from the wind energy industry and the Chinese government have confirmed their appearance. The conference will address issues such as project finance and risk management, integration of wind power plants into the Grid, and wind power technology, among others.

For more information, please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net