Cleaner Energy, Better City. By Ditlev Engel, President and CEO, Vestas Wind Systems A/S

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In May this year, China will officially open the World EXPO 2010 under the theme “Better City, Better Life.” Two years after the Olympic Games in Beijing, which was a prestigious project for China, another grand event of international calibre will yet again attract millions of Chinese and ignite national pride. But behind this event – and in the context of the global financial and climate crisis – lie significant challenges and opportunities. What opportunities does EXPO present for Danish companies? How does Vestas approach this?

Urbanisation in China is presenting increasing challenges for the Chinese government. Soaring energy use, water shortages, increasing car ownership, vehicle emissions and infrastructure that is pushed to its limits are just a few issues that Chinese cities are facing today. Looking 10 years ahead, hundreds of millions of Chinese people will set their eyes on the cities in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

These issues offer tremendous opportunities for Danish cleantech companies, largely due to the determined manner in which we see the Chinese government approaching these challenges. Clear and ambitious goals for market growth and development allow companies to focus on improving and growing their businesses.

Against this backdrop, the upcoming EXPO is yet another demonstration of China’s will to proactively face its challenges and, at the same time, be inspired by success stories from around the world – such as the Danish case. With more than 20 percent of its generated electricity coming from wind and the de-coupling of GDP growth and energy consumption, Denmark possesses a wide array of solutions that we can share with China.

This is the platform that EXPO provides for Vestas and other participating companies. This large, global-scale event allows us to showcase a holistic approach to sustainable development and to send the signal of partnership, which corresponds exactly to the Chinese way of thinking. This is also why we are involved in China with 3,000 employees in all parts of the value chain, from product development – for instance, our V60-850 kW wind turbine – through production to connecting wind turbines to the power grid. We involve partners such as universities, suppliers, grid companies, customers and government bodies in everything we do. We share our knowledge, experience and expertise to build up a sustainable and healthy industry. Vestas is solidly committed to developing China’s growing wind energy industry by helping, advising and sharing. Because we know that we will all benefit if we work together to move the industry forward.

As players in the energy industry, wind energy companies play a significant role in building a sustainable future for China in terms of environmental sustainability, but certainly also in terms of economic sustainability. Wind energy, alongside nuclear energy, hydropower and solar energy, has been labelled new energy and is considered one of the critical new economic growth drivers and solutions to some of China’s biggest challenges: energy security and sustainable development.

In particular, offshore wind energy – which is geographically closer to China’s big energy-consuming cities - is receiving increasing attention. With vast amounts of wind resources along China’s coastlines, offshore wind energy offers a solution to address several of China’s issues at the same time: sustained economic growth and clean energy to power China’s growing and energy-hungry cities. Vestas has years of experience in offshore wind energy and is committed to helping the development of China’s offshore wind energy sector.

The EXPO is not just providing us with a platform to reach out to our suppliers, customers, government and the greater public with these messages. It offers a larger contextual environment which revolves around “Better City, Better Life,” and which allows us to demonstrate that clean energy is a prerequisite for a better city.