King Felipe VI, WindEurope
King Felipe VI praised Spain's efforts in the transition to renewable energy. Image: WindEurope
Energy transition represents a truly "remarkable opportunity" and Spain will play an important role in bolstering the EU's potential for renewable energy, said King Felipe VI of Spain during his keynote speech at the WindEurope conference in Bilbao.
“In our case, Spain may well have the greatest renewable energy potential in the EU. It has a geography of 50 million hectares…it has both Mediterranean and Atlantic winds, high levels of sunshine, large forests, and notable hydraulic resources. Lastly, a dense network of businesses and centres of technology, innovation, and knowledge,” Felipe said to a packed auditorium.
Speaking on the challenge of climate change, which he described as "very alarming", King Felipe placed an emphasis on the wind sector in his country, as well as the importance of R&D: “[Wind] is indisputably one of the key sources of energy, and it is obvious that wind power is already transforming Spain, and Europe. That Spain exports wind technology is a well-known fact, a sector with a significant value chain, in which research and development have placed us third among European nations in terms of the number of wind patents.”
“All of these allow me to say quite frankly that we should feel proud of these achievements, however not content. It may be so that many countries across the world look over to Spain as a standard-setter of how to integrate renewable energies into the electricity networks, but we should not stop pushing even further in this and other areas to stay at the forefront of this global transformation.”
He described the transition to renewable energy as “a critical vector of change; one that not only allows access to energy at affordable prices, but that also brings with it many opportunities in business, technology, and employment.”
The King also praised the Basque country as being a pioneer in the sector saying: “Within Spain, the Basque country represents a clear and forward example of successful energy transition with a particular focus on wind power.”
The royal's presence at the event represented something of a coup for WindEurope and his speech gave a real boost to the industry as a whole.
WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson said: “We were honoured to welcome King Felipe VI of Spain to WindEurope’s annual event today. It’s a signal that the King recognises the importance of the wind industry to Spain’s economy. And that leading the energy transition is a remarkable economic opportunity. The wind sector is an industrial motor in Spain. It provides 22,500 jobs and significant export volumes. Spain, the Basque Country and Bilbao made a conscious decision to back wind energy and are now reaping the benefits in terms of jobs and investments. This is only set to grow. Spain aims to get 42% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. And wind will play a central role in delivering this.”
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