A month before the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen, the wind industry in Germany joined with its international partners to discuss how technology transfer is expected to promote market development in developing countries and emerging economies. Under what conditions can technology transfer be used to speed up action on climate change? How, in turn, can the climate regime accelerate expansion of the wind industry?

The TERNA Wind Energy Programme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, the German Engineering Federation VDMA Power Systems (VDMA PS) and the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) held the annual Wind Energy and Development Dialogue for the fourth time. Over the two days of the event, a total of more than 150 German and international guests, with participants from politics, industry and international organisations, had the opportunity to engage in an intensive exchange of ideas and experience.

The first day focused on Technology Transfer as an Element of Market Development for Wind Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies. The role of technology transfer in the expansion of wind energy was examined in an international context. Reports on the experiences of system manufacturers supplemented this analysis. The second half of the day was allocated to representatives from eight countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They described the market development for wind energy in their countries and presented their expectations of technology transfer. International and local manufacturers then discussed the opportunities and challenges, taking specific examples from the regions. The closing discussion provided a platform for bringing together the developing and emerging countries expectations of successful technology transfer on the one hand and the German wind sectors conditions and requirements for such a transfer to take place on the other.

The second day of the event spotlighted the Effect of the International Climate Regime on the Expansion of Wind Energy Utilisation in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies. In the synoptic introductory talk, German and international political and industry representatives took stock of the effect of existing instruments and formulated their expectations of a post-2012 climate regime. In the second part of the event, representatives of the private sector discussed the contribution of the Clean Development Mechanism to the financing of projects in developing countries and emerging economies. In a concluding round-table discussion recommendations were elaborated for the new climate regime to be negotiated shortly in Copenhagen.

The two events were part of a one-week workshop on integrating wind energy into the grid organised by GTZs TERNA Wind Energy Programme. The workshop was attended by 50 experts and leaders from nine developing countries and emerging economies.

In the following you can find the presentations of the event: