12th World Wind Energy
Conference and
Renewable Energy Exhibition
Opening Doors for Caribbean Wind
Havana, Cuba, 3-5 June 2013
The World
Wind Energy
Association and the Center of Study for Renewable Energy Technologies
(CETER), welcome
the presence of those 560 participants from 42 countries attending this
Conference,
from wind and all other renewable energy technologies.
The Conference
covered all aspects of wind utilisation, related policies,
manufacturing,
development, operation as well as economic and social issues, with a
special
focus on how to accelerate the deployment of wind power in the Caribbean
region.
The Conference
appreciates the support of the governments and governmental as well as
non-governmental organisations, especially the Government of Cuba
including the
Ministry for Energy & Mines, CUBASOLAR, the German Federal Ministry
for the
Environment, Nature Conservation & Nuclear Safety, IRENA, UNESCO,
UNDP,
IDB, GIZ, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, REN21, the World
Future
Council, OLADE and all organisations and individuals enhancing the
Conference.
The Conference
welcomes in particular the strong commitment and important contributions
of the
International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, to the event.
The conference
applauds the scientifically substantiated statements made that a 100 %
renewable energy supply can be reached worldwide in the foreseeable
future and
it encourages all renewable energy stakeholders to join the Global 100%
Renewable Energy Campaign which was launched during the event.
The Conference
appreciates
that the French wind turbine manufacturer Vergnet Eolien has been
awarded with
the World Wind Energy Award 2013 for the
capacity that it has shown to adapt the wind technology to the
necessities of
millions of people, in rural areas and in the areas of developing
countries.
Vergnet has become the most successful manufacturer of wind turbines in
France,
a manufacturer which has introduced in the Caribbean market its machines
adapted
to the Caribbean conditions.
The Conference appreciates
the Special Recognition for Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz. The Conference
recognises Dr.
Castro’s leading role in the introduction of wind power and renewable
energy. Almost
two decades ago, Dr. Castro started to shift Cuba’s energy supply
towards
renewable energy and energy efficiency. No other country in the
Caribbean
region has so far presented a similar progressive renewable energy
programme
like Cuba. Already in the early 1990s, Cuba created the first renewable
energy
programmes. In 1999, the first grid-connected wind farm was installed,
and in
2005, the “Energy Revolution” was launched. It has also to be
appreciated that
most of the so called developed countries hesitate to present similar
ambitious
programmes even if they have a much better economical basis than Cuba to
push
renewable energy on a large scale. In this context, the Conference
appreciates
in particular that other countries can see Cuba as a pioneer in
renewable
energy and Conference hopes and expects that many other countries will
also
launch similar programmes in the future.
The Conference also
appreciates the Special Recognition for Dr. Prof. Conrado Moreno
Figueredo.
Since 1975, Prof. Moreno has been involved in academic and research
activities
related to wind energy, such as wind energy assessment and the design
and
manufacturing of wind turbines. With this long history, he is one of the
most
experienced wind scientists and professor not only in Cuba, but in the
region.
Since 2005, he has been a member of the National Wind Energy Group.
The
Conference recognizes that the Caribbean region is currently heavily
dependent
on fossil fuel combustion, with petroleum products accounting for an
estimated
of more than 90% energy consumption so the environment in the region is
very
vulnerable to climate change. The
Conference encourages all Governments in the Caribbean, Central and
Latin
America to remove the barriers to renewable use in the region and
develop a
comprehensive long-term strategy that includes community power and local
integration of renewable energies as key components.
The Conference
recognises that training and education have to be key elements of a
strategy
that aims at mainstreaming wind power .and support the initiative
focused to
create the Latin American Center for Capacity Building, Research and
Scientific
Information launched by CETER.
In addition the
Conference supports the following objectives, policies and actions to:
1. Remove
gradually
all subsidies and introduce the internalisation of all externalities to
achieve
a level playing field;
2. Pursue
compensatory regulatory frameworks such as sufficient and effective
feed-in
tariffs that encourage renewable energy developments until this is
achieved,
and that provide sufficient financial security to promote long-term
investment,
especially for smaller and community based investors;
3. Focus on the
integration of wind power into existing power systems also on the local
and
community level, create smart grids and enhance decentralised synergies
between
the various renewable energy solutions in order to achieve an integrated
100 %
renewable energy supply in the foreseeable future;
4. Intensify
the
close cooperation with IRENA on the implementation of its work programme
and
contribute to its further refinement;
5. Raise the
political and social awareness on all levels of society and in
particular
amongst local communities and enable them to obtain access to the
necessary
knowledge and technologies;
6. Create a stronger
focus on community power in existing governmental, international,
education,
research and financial institutions;
7. Reduce overall
costs for energy supply by an increasing share of renewable energy power
and by
a stronger focus on least-cost decentralised options for 100 % renewable
energy;
8. Develop and expand
national, regional and international financing mechanisms for renewable
energy,
especially making use of funds provided as part of the international
climate
change negotiations, and ensure that the Global Green Climate Fund gives
priority to renewable energy and community based projects;
9. Support
communities especially in developing countries in obtaining easier
access to
technology and finance;
10. Encourage all
wind energy stakeholders to participate in the next World Wind Energy
Conference which will be held in Shanghai, China, 7-9 April 2014.
Havana, 5
June 2013
The WWEC2013
Chairpersons
He Dexin, WWEA President
Conrado Moreno
