RAWI FORUM’2021 concluded with an invitation to the next forum, to be held in early December 2022 in Moscow. Participants in the final session on the development of the retail wind energy market heartily thanked the organisers, the RAWI team, and agreed to meet in a year at the RAWI FORUM’2022, which promises to be as interesting and eventful. The proposed venue, VDNKh in Moscow, was also announced.
The RAWI FORUM, as expected, brought together more than 250 participants from more than 10 countries and 15 Russian regions. Representatives of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Great Britain, France, Spain, Finland, Denmark, UAE, China, and Poland took part in the forum.
The Forum has traditionally been a meeting place for like-minded people. Numerous partners and media sponsors supported the industry’s main annual event. Vestas became the general partner of RAWI FORUM’2021.
An analysis of this year’s participants pleasantly surprised the organisers – in spite of the pandemic, not only is there a wide geographical spread, but there were many new names and companies, indicating a growing interest in renewable energy among representatives from various business sectors.
RAWI FORUM 2021 opened with an online greeting by Morten Dyrholm, Chairman of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), who outlined the most topical agenda in the world and has recently become topical in Russia: reducing the carbon footprint of various economic sectors.
In addition to decarbonisation, the following topics were also among the most discussed at the turbines, green hydrogen production and, of course, the prospects for developing the voluntary demand market.
How will participants remember the RAWI FORUM this year? First and foremost, an eventful one. The two days of work included an incredibly large and varied programme. Sessions ran in parallel in the two halls of the VESNA space, and both of them were broadcasted online on YouTube for those who wanted to attend the forum in person, but wasn’t able to. Thanks to the smooth running of the venue’s technical department, some speakers also took part online in the sessions.
The active discussion between the speakers of the sessions constantly engaged the audience, from where many questions were asked: serious, provocative and sometimes unexpected, steering the conversation in a new direction. However, it was not only the work of the sessions that created the atmosphere of the forum.
The second characteristic of the forum (after the richness of the programme) was the informal socialising of the participants. This was evidenced by the constant buzz in the venue. While one half of the participants went to the sessions and debated there, the other half discussed problems in the foyer and in the negotiation rooms. The mobile app, where participants not only followed the programme but also made appointments with each other, helped to organise this discussion.
It should be noted that the Golden Wind award ceremony, the Confael prize draw and the evening entertainment closing the first day of the forum were certainly eye-catching, but not a reason to stop talking about business. Applause, vocals and saxophone turned into a backdrop for the ongoing exchange of views, and the cocktail dinner only added a bit of spice.
The RAWI team hopes to hear about the results of the Forum from the feedback. Feedback can be sent via any channel available: in the RAWI members’ chat room, by email to the organisers, in comments on social media posts about the forum.
And we’re ready to share the one that came first today:
Dmitry Stepanov, Deputy General Director of Altren: “We thank RAWI for coordinating all participants of the wind energy industry, finding mutual interests between customers and solution providers, regular information support, and assistance in finding relevant companies to build wind farms. The Association is growing and developing, and it is nice that every year all RAWI members gather at a forum that brings us all together and allows us to discuss pressing issues and rejoice that the wind energy industry in Russia has taken hold.”
We look forward to hearing from the participants of RAWI FORUM’2021 and welcome to RAWI FORUM’2022!