GN: How many years have you been working in your industry? Stefan: I started working for renewable energy in the late 1990s for Eurosolar as a researcher and moved in 2001 to the German Wind Energy Association where I started building up the WWEA which was founded in that same year. In 2003, I was appointed by the board as WWEA Secretary General and since that time I have managed the association – a great work which has allowed me to travel around the world many times and to work closely with people from all different countries and cultures.
THE COMPANY GN: Are you an educational institution, social enterprise, non-profit or private company? Describe your company. Stefan: WWEA is a non-profit organization and the global umbrella organization for the world wind community with the aim of promoting wind energy and other renewable energy sources on the global level, ultimately to achieve a 100% renewable energy supply worldwide. We currently have members in more than 100 countries, and our elected board members are representing all continents. The current president is Peter Rae, former Senator from Australia, while his predecessors came from Denmark, India and China. GN: How big is your company? Stefan: WWEA has more than 600 direct members, and through its member associations indirectly far more than 50,000 members. This includes national and regional wind energy associations, the whole range of companies, other organizations, and individuals. GN: Describe your mission, vision and values. Stefan: WWEA works for an energy system completely driven by renewable energy. In order to achieve global 100 % renewable energy supply, WWEA is supporting especially decentralized and community based approaches, as we believe that social support and a broad involvement of citizens is an essential precondition for the global shift towards renewable energy. Without that, it will be very difficult to mobilize the needed resources for this huge task. In addition, a more decentralized energy supply will also lead to a fairer and more democratic world.
RENEWABLE ENERGY, NOT CLEAN ENERGY GN: Where is this company headed? What’s your future expansion plans? Describe briefly your strategic goals. Stefan: The WWEA Head Office is located in Bonn, next to the UN Campus – in sight of the UNFCCC Climate Secretariat and not far from the IRENA Innovation and Technology Center. We have currently researchers also in other countries, including currently in Pakistan and in Russia. WWEA is a very broad and global network of the wind and renewable energy community around the world. We do believe in the strength of such networks of local and national units, and hence we have also launched two other important umbrella networks: The International Renewable Energy Alliance brings together the global renewable energy technology associations, and the Global100%RE campaign is a multi-stakeholder network from industry, civil society, academia, local governments and beyond who share the vision and goal of a 100% renewable energy future.
GN: What is clean energy as defined by your organization/company? Stefan: We do not use the term “clean” energy because it is not clear enough. We prefer to talk about “renewable” energy as it describes very precisely the main requirement our energy sources have to fulfill in order to meet mankind’s energy demand in a sustainable way. In this sense, renewable energy includes geothermal energy, hydropower, bioenergy, marine energy, solar energy and wind power. GN: Why bother? What’s the importance of pursuing clean energy? Stefan: Renewable energies are by definition inexhaustible, and this also implies that in principle they do not cause major environmental and hence social or economic problems. Based on renewable energy, all human beings have equal opportunities to access modern energy and to develop and to satisfy their needs without endangering the lives of others. This is really a unique opportunity for mankind, the first time since industrialization has started. There is a chance that all humans can achieve a similar standard of life.
At the Community Power Conference in Tokyo with Samse Energy Director, Soren Hermansen.
To achieve our goals, we connect the different actors of the wind community, we provide information about wind power, and we work with governments and international organizations – WWEA has special consultative status at the United Nations.
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