Wind Power in Spain
Between 20 and 22 September 2006, the fifth Power Expo was held in Zaragoza, Spain. During the three days of the fair, more than 430 companies from 25 nations presented their products and services; more than 50% of the exhibitors were from outside Spain. Compared to the show two years ago the total number of exhibitors has increased a little and the event was more international.
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{access view=!registered}Only logged in users can view the full text of the article.{/access}{access view=registered}Although the majority of the exhibitors were from outside Spain, I still think that the show has a local Spanish character. At the time of writing this I don’t know the exact number of visitors and their nationalities, but I have the impression that most visitors were from Spain. So it is perhaps not such an international event as, for instance, the annual EWEC shows. But on the other hand Spain is a huge and important market for wind power, so I don’t see this as something negative. Power Expo is clearly the most important market in Spain.
Wandering through the aisles and talking to the exhibitors I received mixed feedback. There seemed to be less traffic at the show than at some other shows but this impression may partly have been caused by the big and broad aisles. Some exhibitors were disappointed by the lack of traffic but others said they had more and better conversations compared with shows where the aisles are packed with people.
All Spanish turbine manufacturers were exhibiting at the event, and although foreign players are also active in the Spanish market the local manufacturers still dominate in Spain. Gamesa, of course, is the biggest. Another big player in the Spanish market is the Acciona Group. They have rebranded all their companies under the name Acciona. The main market for them is still Spain but they have ambitions to enter other international markets as well. At the event they introduced their new AW-1500 wind turbine. The company has chosen to invite the sculptor Faustino Aizkorbe to help design the nacelle. Personally I think he did a good job. He came up with an attractive and aerodynamic design. Maybe this will help to convert people who think turbines are ugly in the environment.
My overall impression of the show is positive but I believe the organisers should think about ways to attract more visitors to the show. When the traffic is low the exhibitors have enough time to talk to fellow exhibitors and do business together but that is not the main reason why they are exhibiting at an event like this. The next Power Expo will be in September 2008 when the Expo will be held in Zaragoza as well. Maybe that will help to attract more people.
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