Power out of thin air

The expression “feeling the wind in your hair” suggests a sense of freedom and harmony with the elements. But that’s not all. Wind is also one of the main sources of energy that is entirely green. The ‘Switch to Green’ conference was focused on precisely this type of pro-ecological project, and those who attended should have no doubts now that it is well worth making the switch to green.

Eurobuild Conferences is already a well-known brand when it comes to organizing events for the real estate and construction markets. The lack of a challenge, however, could make the company complacent, although this was not the main reason why the ‘Switch to Green’ conference took place on December 8th. It is not only environmentalists who are currently raising the issue of generating energy from renewable sources, but legislators are also getting in on the act. More importantly, businessmen and developers have become aware of the potential profits to be made in the sector.

Will Poland soon be as ecologically-minded as Scandinavia? Let’s hope so. With the conference taking place as the Copenhagen summit got underway, Søren Juul Jørgensen, head of the economic and commercial department of the Danish embassy in Warsaw, opened the conference by making the case that economic growth can go together with green energy projects. The Danish embassy was, along with the German embassy and the Polish-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, one of the patrons of honour of the conference.

The main part of the event started with a presentation by Jacek Kostrzewa of Green Max Capital Advisors of the basic assumptions concerning wind energy in Poland, and in a wider context, in Europe. “Wind energy is not some kind of fad, as Spain shows. On November 8th, more than half of the country’s electrical energy came from wind power at one point during that particular day. Although I must admit that it was a Sunday morning and a very windy day, but the fact itself is worth noting,” he insisted.

Iwona Kubicz and Aleksandra Zielińska of On Board Public Relations gave the next presentation, about the values held by Polish companies. Their research revealed that the natural environment is felt to have the highest value for 57 pct of companies in the energy and chemical sectors.

The wind power industry is not yet at the most developed stage in Poland. The first steps, however, have been taken. The next discussion panel was in the hands of lawyers. Wojciech Sztuba, managing partner of TPA Horwath, introduced the topic, after which Grzegorz Wiśniewski, president of the board of the Institute for Renewable Energy and Jacek Babczyński, general counsel at Neolica Polska/EDP Renovaveis, participated in a discussion led by Michał Kozłowski, a partner of the Krawczyk & Partners law office. And what were they debating? The most interesting legal issues currently concerning this market.

Those already hoping to invest in wind energy were waiting most eagerly for the development panel: “the A–Z of setting up your project”. Tomasz Szumilas of Renovatio Power Polska, Sławomir Piwowarski, president of the board of Polenergia Wiatr, Grzegorz Skarżyński, investment director of Tundra Advisory and special advisor to the Taiga Mistral Fund, and the moderator, Eligiusz Krześniak of Squire Sanders, spoke on the various pitfalls which developers and investors might come across. They focused on three issues that seem most problematic in this business: the acquisition possibilities with regard to adequately windy sites, cooperation with electricity boards and cooperation with local authorities.

After a coffee break, Karolina Siedlik, a partner at CMS Cameron McKenna, introduced the discussion about financing, followed by Piotr Łuba, a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, who made the introductory presentation. They were joined by Bogusława Skowrońska, chief executive officer of CMS Corporate Management Services and Grzegorz Zieliński, a senior banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The panel argued the case that it is not only possible for investment in wind farms to be profitable, but in fact it has to be. In a detailed discussion, they talked about how to prepare and present a project in order to acquire financing, even in these difficult times.

The final panel was devoted to the environmental aspects of renewable energy development. Pro-ecological investment projects would make no sense if they interfered with nature in any way. Tackling this topic head-on were: Stanisław Wajda, a counsel at Clifford Chance, Maciej Rozkrut of Environ Corp Poland, Ryszard Zakrzewski, director of the department of environmental impact assessment at the General Directorate of Environmental Protection, Joachim Bobzin, president of Clean Energy Polska, and Katarzyna Michałowska-Knap, wind energy team coordinator of the Institute for Renewable Energy.

The conference was extended a little by questions from the audience, which mainly consisted of additional doubts and requests for further information. The subject matter is much broader than the organizers could possibly manage to fit into a programme of only a few hours. And so the discussions moved into the back rooms, where armed with glasses of wine, professionals working in this sector could make each other’s acquaintance – an essential ingredient of successfully doing business.  (EG)