Port Esbjerg keeps investing in European collaboration

BY DENNIS JUL PEDERSEN, CEO AT PORT ESBJERG

At the invitation of the WindEurope Ports Platform, Port Esbjerg has launched my candidature for the Board of Directors of WindEurope, which I consider a significant token of recognition from our partners, and I will do my utmost to live up to their confidence in me.

The green transition in Europe is well underway. However, if the ambitious targets of the European wind industry are to be achieved, we must not rest on good intentions.

We need to do more to ensure stability and predictability throughout the supply chain, allowing many more projects to be realised than are currently the case. At the same time, European ports must be given better conditions to expand their capacity and invest in infrastructure and people. Lastly, we need to look at the regulatory framework and assess what the obstacles are which stand in the way of cross-border collaboration and how we can encourage the development of the industry as a whole.

We are already doing a lot of things right. We share knowledge, experience and insights into the challenges that affect the entire value chain – both for onshore and offshore wind. We need to keep doing this. A strong European wind industry depends on us working together and being forthright in speaking about the obstacles that are affecting the industry, while at the same time sharing the practices that work across the ports.

With these ambitions, Port Esbjerg is offering to stand for election to the Board of Directors of WindEurope in order that we may jointly unlock the potential of wind energy all over Europe.

The annual WindEurope conference took place in Bilbao on 20 to 22 March, bringing together more than 15,000 people – a clear sign that the industry is developing rapidly and there is a lot of interest. We attended the conference and you can read about our key takeaways here.

In this newsletter, you can read about Harvard Business School paying Port Esbjerg another visit to show students how the green transition is unfolding in practice. We also talked to MEP Morten Helveg Petersen and EP candidate Ulla Tørnæs, who share their views on how the EU is changing its perspective on ports. This and more in this issue of Port Esbjerg’s newsletter.