Leading to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)
2011 Conference

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As a longtime NYC real estate inspector and a strong advocate for sustainable energy, I was genuinely impressed reading through this site and revisiting the history and purpose behind the European Wind Energy Association’s 2011 conference. What struck me most was how familiar the challenges felt. Coordinating global wind-energy initiatives—harmonizing grid codes, managing regulatory frictions, aligning political interests, and navigating public misinformation—mirrors the very same complexities I see every day in New York real estate development. The scale is different, but the obstacles rhyme.

When I evaluate large-scale building projects in the city, especially those driven by forward-thinking trailblazers like Dov Hertz, I see firsthand how many layers of approval, community review, infrastructure constraints, and compliance standards must be balanced before a project can move from vision to steel. Reading about the push for unified grid code requirements across Europe, and the uphill battle against inconsistent advertising standards and public skepticism, reminded me that wind-energy developers face the same kind of systemic bottlenecks—just spread across entire nations instead of neighborhoods.

The technical sessions highlighted on this site—from offshore resource modeling, to LIDAR measurement accuracy, to wake-effect analysis—show exactly how much expertise and precision is required to bring clean energy to scale. It’s the same level of behind-the-scenes rigor that most New Yorkers never see in the buildings they walk past every day, where energy efficiency, wind load modeling, and environmental impact assessments quietly shape the skyline.

What I appreciate most about this restored archive is that it keeps an important conversation alive. Wind energy doesn’t succeed because one turbine is built—it succeeds because countless experts, regulators, engineers, and planners coordinate across borders and overcome obstacles that would make even the toughest NYC permitting office look tame. And just as our city developers must fight through bureaucracy, misinformation, and logistical chaos to get a sustainable project approved, global wind-energy advocates must do the same on a much larger scale.

This site is a reminder that the push toward sustainability—whether in a single New York building or across the entire European energy grid—requires persistence, cooperation, and a willingness to challenge outdated systems. As someone who inspects buildings with an eye toward a greener future, I’m inspired by the determination documented here. It reinforces what I tell developers every week: progress isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely worth it. Sandra Weil

 

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2011 OPENING SESSION

Theme: Plenary and panel sessions
Monday, 14 March 2011, 10:00 - 12:00
Room: Auditorium 2000

Session description
Leading political figures from the European institutions and national governments will open the conference with visionary speeches. Setting the scene for the days ahead, the speakers will share their views on the future of the renewables and wind energy industries at the Member State and European levels. They will also provide the delegates with an insight into their organisation’s recent and planned activities in the fields of energy and environment.

Speakers
Christian Kjaer
CEO, European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), Belgium
Herman Van Rompuy
President, European Council (video message)
Jerzy Buzek
President, European Parliament (video message)
Christos Doulkéridis
Ministre-Président du Gouvernement francophone bruxellois, responsible for Tourism, Education and Budget
Lykke Friis
Minister for Climate and Energy, Denmark;
Peter Olajos
Green Economy and Climate Change Deputy State Secretary, Hungary
José Carlos das Dores Zorrinho
Secretary of State for Energy and Innovation, Portugal 
Arthouros Zervos
President, European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)

INTERVIEW with Claude Turmes, Member of the European Parliament by Jim Gibbons, Quadrant Media & Communications

 

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ABSTRACT ID:  583

Track: WIND RESOURCE  Topic: WIN02 Offshore wind resource assessment

OFFSHORE WIND RESOURCE SITE CHARACTERIZATION USING WRF MODEL, RESULTS FROM FIRST VALIDATION TEST

Wind turbine technology has achieved a challenging development in the last years towards a real offshore wind power penetration. The engineering barriers have been overcome and now it is required a more specific and detailed spatial planning of the offshore resource to support the foreseen role of the wind power production coming from the seas. Offshore wind resource characterization is dramatically constrained by the enormous cost of obtaining on-site windmast data. On the other hand, satellite derived information provides wide spatial  estimation of surface variables but can not fulfill the resource information demand due to height,  spatial resolution and time sampling limitations.

Atmospheric numerical modelling is the main and effective technique to map resource up to very near offshore wind farm scale. This work will show different improvements to adapt WRF regional atmospheric model for real offshore turbulence and bottom boundaries conditions for different regions.

Main focus will be given to atmospheric stability mechanism and adaptation of turbulence schemes via drag adjustment to surface topology.  Enhancement of boundaries conditions will also benefit of  satellite data assimilation and wind wave models coupling. An innovative semi-LES approach is also presented here. This work will also cover extreme wind characterization on the sea/ocean climatic context based the gained experience on onshore extreme conditions mapping. WRF improvement features for offshore wind modelling are part of the seamless modeling approach of the global wind resource conditions carried out by Vortex during the last 3 year whit special emphasis on a intensive on-going validation exercise against offshore data measured by developers and manufacturers. The verification of WRF offshore  results were made in collaboration with  Vestas and  Natural Power

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REMOTE SENSING

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Monday, 14 March 2011, 16:00 - 17:30
Room: Auditorium 700

Session description
The use of LIDAR for wind speed measurements is still increasing and therefore competing with cup anemometry. Through experiments, experience is being built up in various conditions and will be presented in this session. LIDAR is important especially for project developers and wind turbine manufacturers but in fact for all who use wind measurements. The session will provide the state of the art of LIDAR in different circumstances.

Experimental results based on a comparison of onshore and offshore measurements will be presented for floating LIDAR. The uncertainty of LIDAR measurements in complex terrain will be investigated by comparing measurement results in different terrain types against mast data. Finally, in an interactive discussion, three presenters will go into the use of a nacelle-based LIDAR for power curve measurements and share their experiences.

Lead chair:
Jan Coelingh, Ecofys, The Netherlands

Speakers
INVESTIGATING THE EFFICACY OF FLOATING LIDAR MOTION COMPENSATION ALGORITHMS FOR OFFSHORE WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT APPLICATIONS 
Lars Landberg
GL Garrad Hassan, United Kingdom
INVESTIGATION OF SOURCES FOR LIDAR UNCERTAINTY IN FLAT AND COMPLEX TERRAIN 
Fernando Borbon Guillen
Centro Nacional de Energias Renovables (CENER), Spain
DETERMINATION OF POWER CURVES BASED ON WIND FIELD MEASUREMENTS USING A NACELLE-BASED LIDAR SCANNER 
Andreas Rettenmeier
University of Stuttgart, Germany
FIRST TEST OF A NACELLE-MOUNTED TWO-BEAMS LIDAR SYSTEM UNDER OFFSHORE CONDITIONS 
Thomas Neumann
DEWI GmbH, Germany
POWER PERFORMANCE MEASURED USING A NACELLE-BASED LIDAR 
Rozenn Wagner
Risø DTU, Denmark 

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WAKES

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Tuesday, 15 March 2011, 09:00 - 10:30
Room: Auditorium 700

Session description
Reducing the uncertainty in the prediction of wake effects is of vital importance for large wind farm developments. Wakes not only impact the energy production but also increase the loading a wind turbine will experience. In the offshore environment evidence suggests that wakes persist far more than they do on land and as a consequence are a major design driver.

This session brings together a number of papers which present numerical wake models of varying complexity ranging from CFD to “engineering” models. Experimental data will be presented to assess the accuracy of the models. The session will also explore a novel technique for measuring wakes using separated non-aligned LIDARs.

Lead chair:
Mike Anderson, Renewable Energy Systems (RES), United Kingdom
Co-chair:
Andrew Tindal, GL Garrad Hassan, United Kingdom

Speakers
WIND FARM WAKE EFFECTS ESTIMATIONS BY A MOSAIC TILE WAKE MODEL. 
Ole Steen Rathmann
Risø DTU, Denmark  
OFFSHORE WIND ACCELERATOR: WAKE MODELLING USING CFD 
Christiane Montavon
ANSYS UK Ltd, United Kingdom
NUMERICAL ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE OF LIDAR WINDSCANNERS FOR WAKE MEASUREMENTS 
Davide Trabucchi
Oldenburg University, Germany 
TOPFARM - PHILOSOPHY, RESULTS AND OUTLOOK 
Gunner C. Larsen Larsen
Risø DTU, Denmark 

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MESOSCALE MODELLING

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Tuesday, 15 March 2011, 11:00 - 12:30
Room: Auditorium 2000

Session description
Mesoscale models are beginning to be used in the wind energy sector for wind resource assessment purposes. The advantages of using these atmospheric models to study the wind potential are clear: simulation of the wind field (plus many other atmospheric parameters) with a spatial resolution in kilometre-scale covering big domains of more than 1000 km x 1000 km, the possibility to simulate any region of the world without local measurements, etc. However, there is a need to understand the uncertainties of such models, especially when dealing with wind energy.

During this session, mesoscale model users, wind resource assessment and prospective staff will provide an overview of the state of the art and innovative applications of mesoscale models in wind energy, together with information about challenges, uncertainty and integration examples of the data generated by these atmospheric models.

Lead chair:
Ignacio Marti, Centro Nacional de Energias Renovables (CENER), Spain
Co-chair:
Lueder Von Bremen, ForWind, Germany

Speakers
COMPREHENSIVE UTILIZATION OF MESOSCALE MODELLING FOR WIND ENERGY APPLICATIONS 
Jake Badger
Risø DTU, Denmark  
MESOSCALE MODELS IN WIND ENERGY: A QUICK GUIDE 
Adrea Hahmann
Risø DTU, Denmark  
MODELLING OF WIND SPEED FIELDS OVER EUROPE AND POWER CORRELATIONS IN A 400 GW SCENARIO 
Jens Tambke
ForWind - University of Oldenburg, Germany  
ANALYSIS OF THE CLIMATIC CONDITIONS FOR OFFSHORE WIND POWER IN NORWEGIAN WATERS 
Erik Berge
Kjeller Vindteknikk AS, Norway
VALUE MAPPING - IDENTIFYING OFFSHORE WIND FARM AREAS WITH 'COST OF ENERGY' MAPS BASED ON WIND RESOURCE AND PROJECT COSTS 
Anthony Crockford
Ecofys, The Netherlands 

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FORECASTING PREDICTION

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Tuesday, 15 March 2011, 16:00 - 17:30
Room: Auditorium 2000

Session description
Wind power forecasting has reached a mature stage in the last years. This session will showcase what can be called the ‘third generation’ prediction models, which go further than the deterministic forecast of power production over the coming days. Concerning meteorology, the benefits of ensemble forecasts in Europe will be demonstrated, showing the potential of this source of probabilistic predictions and the expected accuracy.

Because wind power will become the main source of electricity in an optimally interconnected Europe, the effects of spatial forecast error smoothing on a European scale will be quantified and visualised in this session. Moreover, specific extreme events and large errors, e.g. during ramps or icing, are of vital importance for the management of our electricity systems. The last two presentations will deal with the challenges related to forecasting those events.

Lead chair:
Jens Tambke, ForWind, Germany
Co-chair:
Athanasios Kyriazis, 3E, Belgium

Speakers
BENEFITS FROM THE INCREASED CONTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN WEATHER FORECASTING COMMUNITY TO WIND POWER PREDICTION 
Pierre Pinson
European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, United Kingdom
INCREASING CERTAINTY: COMBINATION METHODS FOR RELIABLE PROBABILISTIC WIND PRODUCTION FORECASTS 
Jeremy Parkes
GL Garrad Hassan, United Kingdom  
STUDYING WIND POWER FORECAST ERRORS ON THE EUROPEAN SCALE 
Lueder von Bremen
ForWind - Center for Wind Energy Research, Germany 
WARNINGS FOR LARGE ERRORS IN WIND POWER FORECASTING 
Matthias Lange
Energy & Meteo Systems, Germany
ADVANCED RAMP FORECASTING FOR DIFFERENT TEMPORAL SCALES. 
Robin Girard
Mines Paristech, France   

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ADVANCED FLOW MODELING

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 09:00 - 10:30
Room: Auditorium 2000

Session description
In this session we will hear about the latest development of CFD models over complex terrain, including modelling of atmospheric stability and unsteady CFD solutions for capturing some of the terrain induced vortexes. The session will also include a 20 min discussion of what is gained by the implementation of atmospheric stability and the problems of including this in the CFD codes. The session will finish with an overview of the challenges of using CFD on real world wind farms.

 

Lead chair:
Hans Esjing Joergensen, Risø DTU, Denmark
Co-chair:
José Laginha Palma, FEUP/CEsA, Portugal

Speakers
INVESTIGATING WIND QUALITY FOR SITING OF WIND TURBINES IN COMPLEX TERRAIN USING AN UNSTEADY CFD METHOD 
Cheng-Hu Hu
Vestas Technology R&D, Denmark  
VALIDATION AND CHALLENGES OF CFD IN COMPLEX TERRAIN FOR REAL WORLD WIND FARMS. 
Lars Landberg
GL Garrad Hassan, United Kingdom 
CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY IN CFD MODELS 
Christiane Montavon
ANSYS UK Ltd, United Kingdom  
INFLUENCE OF THERMAL STABILITY ON CFD SIMULATIONS
Arne R. Gravdahl
Windwsim, Norway 
APPROACHES TO MODELING ATMOSPHERIC STABILITY IN STAR-CCM+
Steve Evans
CD Adapco, United Kingdom 
NEW DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT THERMAL STABILITY IN METEODYN WT 
Karim Fahssis
Meteodyn, France 

 

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SITING CHALLENGES

Theme: WIND RESOURCE
Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 11:00 - 12:30
Room: Auditorium 700

Session description
This session will cover a wide range of challenging aspects of wind resource estimation. Firstly, two presentations – one from the theoretical perspective, the other from the practical - will address issues related to flow in and around forestry. The next part of the session will address the latest developments in understanding the vertical profile especially at higher heights. Finally, some hot and cold news: an icing atlas from Finland, and a paper on resource estimation in deserts. The session will be of interest to analysts as well as managers within wind resource estimation.

Lead chair:
Lars Landberg, GL Garrad Hassan, United Kingdom
Co-chair:
Oisin Brady, Natural Power, France

Speakers
TALL WIND PROFILES AND RELATED ISSUES
Mark Kelly
Risø DTU, Denmark 
BETTER WIND RESOURCE ESTIMATION THROUGH DETAILED FOREST CHARACTERIZATION
Jens Madsen
Vattenfall, Sweden 
MICRO- AND MESO-SCALE EFFECTS OF FORESTED TERRAIN 
Ebba Dellwik
Risø DTU, Denmark  
WIND RESOURCE ASSESSMENT IN DESERT AREAS 
Erik Holtslag
Ecofys, The Netherlands 
FINNISH ICING ATLAS 
Karoliina Ljungberg
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland 

 

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Calendar of Events

 

 

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More Background On EWEC2010Proceedings.info

 

EWEC2010Proceedings.info is a recovered, archival-purpose website associated with the European Wind Energy Association’s (EWEA) activities around 2010–2011, specifically focused on the publication and promotion of conference proceedings, research presentations, and policy discussions related to wind-energy development in Europe. Although the site is no longer an active official platform of EWEA (now WindEurope), its restoration attempts to preserve a snapshot of one of the most consequential eras in European renewable-energy history—an era marked by rapid technological evolution, sweeping policy reforms, and an unprecedented push toward grid harmonization across the continent.

While the original website was active primarily around 2010 and 2011, its value extends well beyond its operational years. It provides insight into the scientific, political, economic, and regulatory challenges that defined the renewable-energy landscape at the turn of the decade. Most importantly, it highlights how leaders in wind-energy research, grid management, and public policy collaborated during a pivotal moment for Europe’s renewable-energy ambitions.

The restored version of EWEC2010Proceedings.info functions today as a historical resource rather than a live-conference platform. It showcases archived content from the European Wind Energy Conference (EWEC), which served as the precursor to what became Europe’s largest annual wind conference, later known simply as the EWEA Annual Event and now as WindEurope Conference & Exhibition.

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Ownership and Historical Background

The EWEC2010Proceedings.info domain was originally tied to the European Wind Energy Association, headquartered in Brussels. EWEA was recognized as Europe’s single most influential industry body for wind-energy advocacy, research organization coordination, and policy alignment between EU institutions and the rapidly expanding wind sector.

The original purpose of the site was straightforward:
to provide a dedicated online hub for conference sessions, research abstracts, speaker lists, and technical papers from the 2010–2011 EWEC events.

According to archived snapshots from the Internet Archive (Wayback Machine), the site provided:

• downloadable PDFs of technical research papers

• presentation schedules

• speaker biographies

• topic-based session groupings

• policy updates and strategic forecasts

• interviews with high-ranking policymakers

Once the domain expired years later, it became available for purchase and was restored privately to preserve and display selected archival content for historical and educational purposes. The current version does not represent an official continuation of EWEA or WindEurope, but rather an independent effort to maintain an important digital record of renewable-energy progress during its early acceleration phase.

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Popularity and Audience

During its original lifespan, the site attracted:

• renewable-energy engineers and technical specialists

• policymakers and regulatory agencies

• wind-turbine manufacturers

• academic researchers

• environmental organizations

• energy-sector journalists

• investment and finance professionals specializing in green infrastructure

The EWEC conference was recognized as Europe’s most significant annual wind-energy event, drawing thousands of attendees each year and commanding substantial attention from EU governing bodies. As a result, the website was widely referenced in industry publications, energy blogs, European policy documents, and academic citations.

Since its restoration, the site has maintained a niche but meaningful audience consisting primarily of researchers, historians of sustainable technology, wind-energy engineers, and policy analysts who reference older proceedings to track the evolution of wind-energy modeling, forecasting, and regulatory frameworks.

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Location and Proximity Context

While the restored site exists only digitally, the original events and associated activities were physically anchored in major European cities. Archive records show that related EWEC conferences were hosted in:

• Warsaw (grid-code harmonization discussions in 2010)

• Brussels (main 2011 conference)

• Copenhagen, Milan, and Athens in earlier years

These highly strategic host cities were selected due to their proximity to EU institutions, strong regional energy agencies, and influential renewable-energy markets. The restored website often references these cities because they played a critical role in shaping European renewable-energy policy and advancing scientific research.

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Goals and Purpose of the Website

The overarching purpose of EWEC2010Proceedings.info, both historically and in its restored form, can be summarized into several core objectives:

1. Documenting scientific and technical progress

The site served as a repository for cutting-edge research in:

• offshore wind resource modeling

• wake-effect calculations

• mesoscale atmospheric simulations

• LIDAR-based measurement technologies

• power-curve verification and turbulence studies

• extreme-wind and climate-related evaluations

These papers were used by engineers, developers, and researchers to refine turbine performance models and support the development of larger wind farms.

2. Supporting policy harmonization efforts

One of the most important roles of the site was to provide structured documentation for regulatory conversations surrounding:

• unified European grid codes

• advertising standards and factual accuracy

• wind-energy integration

• sustainable development goals

• post-2020 EU energy policy planning

3. Offering transparency for industry stakeholders

The platform allowed policymakers, manufacturers, financiers, and environmental advocates to openly access:

• conference schedules

• topic summaries

• interviews with European Parliament and Council representatives

4. Preserving institutional memory

Restoring this website helps ensure that historically important presentations and discussions remain accessible to future generations of researchers, policy students, and renewable-energy professionals.

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Historical Significance

The EWEC 2010–2011 era marked one of the most important transitional phases in European wind-energy history.

Key developments during this period include:

1. The rise of offshore wind

Europe was preparing to lead the world in offshore wind development, especially in the North Sea basin. Papers on offshore turbulence modeling, floating LIDAR, and atmospheric boundary-layer interactions were essential to advancing offshore projects.

2. Grid-code harmonization

As wind penetration increased rapidly, inconsistent national grid standards posed a threat to stability. EWEA’s working group began pushing for unified requirements across EU member states—a major precursor to modern European grid integration policies.

3. Forecasting advancements

Research presented during this period helped shift forecasting from deterministic short-term models to large-scale probabilistic ensemble approaches.

4. Wake-effect modeling breakthroughs

Long-distance wake persistence in offshore environments represented a major engineering challenge. Many sessions focused on modeling these effects using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), LIDAR scanning, and specialized predictive software.

5. Public acceptance and communication

Concerns about NIMBYism, misinformation, and advertising accuracy became major themes. Presentations addressed how local communities perceive wind farm development and how improved transparency can foster acceptance.

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Press & Media Coverage

EWEC conferences from this era were widely covered by:

• European renewable-energy publications

• international climate-policy journals

• major European newspapers

• technical magazines covering engineering, power systems, and CFD modeling

• television segments discussing EU sustainability targets

Journalists focused on topics such as:

• the economic competitiveness of renewables

• breakthroughs in turbine design

• cross-border energy cooperation

• failures of national advertising governance

• public attitudes toward wind energy

The conference also attracted coverage due to high-profile speakers including European parliament presidents, energy ministers, research directors, and climate-policy influencers.

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Known For: Technical Depth and Policy Influence

The site remains best known for:

✔ Highly technical research proceedings

Covering atmospheric science, turbine engineering, CFD modeling, LIDAR measurement science, and offshore climate analysis.

✔ Serious European political participation

Numerous political officials delivered keynote speeches or provided recorded statements, highlighting wind energy’s critical economic and environmental role.

✔ Serving as a digital time capsule

Preserving technical papers and event details from a unique moment in the acceleration of European renewable energy.

✔ Bridging scientific and regulatory discussions

The site brought engineers and policymakers together, a rare intersection that significantly influenced future EU energy strategies.

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Cultural & Social Significance

Beyond its scientific and policy contributions, the site represents a broader cultural moment for Europe:

1. The emerging cultural identity of clean energy

Wind energy was no longer an emerging niche but a defining pillar of Europe’s sustainable future. EWEC events embodied a collective European belief in technological innovation and climate responsibility.

2. A collaborative European spirit

The proceedings demonstrated unprecedented cooperation between:

• national governments

• EU agencies

• academics

• private energy companies

• research laboratories

This collaboration shaped Europe’s identity as a global renewable-energy leader.

3. A counter to misinformation

Sessions addressing advertising standards and public perception predated today’s widespread discussions about misinformation, demonstrating early awareness of communication challenges in the energy sector.

4. An inspiration for future renewable-energy movements

Students, activists, and researchers often cite this conference era as formative for their understanding of sustainable development.

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Detailed Examples of Session Topics

Some of the most influential tracks and sessions from the archived program include:

Offshore Resource Assessment

Researchers presented WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model enhancements designed to simulate offshore turbulence, ocean boundary conditions, and extreme wind profiles.

Remote Sensing & LIDAR Innovations

Discussions included floating LIDAR stability algorithms, nacelle-mounted scanners, and measurement uncertainty across complex terrain.

CFD and Mesoscale Modeling

Experts debated the integration of atmospheric stability in CFD models and evaluated its impact on turbine siting and wake prediction.

Forecasting and Grid Integration

Presenters demonstrated how Europe could reduce forecasting errors by combining ensemble weather models with real-time data and smoothing effects across interconnected grids.

Siting Challenges

Forestry effects, icing risks, desert wind conditions, and tall-profile vertical wind gradients were examined with practical field data.

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Audience Impact and Long-Term Influence

The research, debate, and policy direction showcased through the EWEC proceedings influenced:

• modern wind farm design standards

• turbine placement strategies

• LIDAR deployment in commercial projects

• advanced load-alleviation systems

• EU decarbonization goals for 2020, 2030, and 2050

• the development of offshore wind supergrids

The discussions preserved on EWEC2010Proceedings.info represent the foundation of today’s renewable-energy deployment strategies.

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EWEC2010Proceedings.info serves as a valuable archival resource that preserves a historically important period in Europe’s wind-energy development. While no longer an active or official EWEA platform, its restored content ensures that critical scientific research, policy insights, and industry advancements remain available to scholars, engineers, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding how Europe became a global leader in renewable energy.

The website stands as a testament to the collaborative spirit that defined early European wind-energy expansion and continues to inspire the modern renewable-energy movement.