By Daniele Pagani
If you are interested in small wind turbines, you already know why September is an important month for the sector; for the others, it is because it is the period where our International Conference on Small & Medium Wind Energy takes place.
Previous …
Started in April 2019, as part of the dissemination activities connected to the establishment of the Danish Test and Resource Centre for Small Wind Turbines, the small wind conference immediately gained momentum and it attracted a considerable number of people working with (or interested into) the topic.
The first editions were run as an in-presence conference only, since that was Nordic Folkecenter’s standard at that time. Then COVID-19 came and things had to change: as many others, we suddenly found ourselves in a completely new situation, where only virtual participation was possible. So we tried it.
It would be a lie saying that everything went perfect: there were challenges, both technical and in terms of matching the different time-zones of the speakers, but we managed it quite well. As they say, “What does not kill you makes you stronger” and so it was: by running the event online, massive opportunities were discovered: suddenly, the list of potential speakers was more variegated and so it was the audience; to give an idea, the 5th edition was the best performing so far, with 239 participants from 41 different countries. That’s a lot for small wind!
When COVID-19 was over and we went back to in-presence events, we decided not to miss the huge virtual potential and, therefore, we turned the events into a blended format. Our audience appreciated that…in fact, a little too much! For many editions, the physical participation was very limited, with the most happening online…up to this year.
This year …
The 9th edition was special: people started to come back in person as well, and we could really see a difference in the atmosphere and in the networking possibilities. Many presentations were still online, but that was not a problem, as we set-up the conference venue to accommodate both the needs. This edition saw the participation of 110 people, from 33 different countries.
On top of the usual, very interesting presentations, a workshop from IEA Task 41 was also organized: this allowed participants to discuss on three different topics related to small, medium and distributed wind (Community, Social-Political and Market) and to provide their inputs to the Task 41’s work. It was very nice to see online and in-presence people discussing with passion on these topics!
The official conference took place on 24th and 25th September and it included an excursion to the Danish Test Center for Large Wind Turbines, in Østerild; the participants found it nice to get out in the fresh wind and to experience those giants from so close. Additionally, for those who wanted, there was also a possibility to join us for an excursion to Hamburg Wind 2024, a fair on wind energy taking place every year in Germany. The long trip further allowed for more networking, creating a very pleasant climate.
We are now preparing the proceedings of the conference, so that also those who could not attend will be able to learn more about the topic. The material should be made available in approximately 10 days and it will be found both on the conference page (together with the one from previous editions) and on our YouTube channel (if you haven’t already, it may be a good idea to subscribe). Registered participants will receive a mail when the material is ready. For the others, please keep an eye on our webpage and social media.
As this event is becoming a yearly reference for the industry and for all the interested people, we are already looking at the future. Dates are decided, so you may already want to book your calendar for 16-17 September 2025, with potential excursion to Husum Wind on 18th September. You can already register here: https://www.folkecenterevents.net/pages/Register_Small-Wind.php
Finally, we would like to thank a lot all those who participated and, especially the speakers! Thanks for making this edition so special and see you next year!
P.s. If you want to be part of the small, medium & distributed community you can join our Linkedin group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8929012/
Pictures from the conference
