PennWell launches first POWER-GEN Europe Confidence Index

Sentiment barometerhighlights attitudes of Europe’s power industry

POWER-GEN Europe and its co-located event Renewable Energy World Europe, the leading conference and exhibition for the international power and renewable industries, today launches the results of the first POWER-GEN Europe Confidence Index, measuring the attitudes of power industry practitioners in the region.

The Index is the result of a pan-European study of over 700 of the region’s power market professionals. It focuses on topics including: renewable integration, plant modernisation, energy storage, electric vehicles and all the main types of power generation.

The key findings include:

  • The growing share of renewables in the energy mix is the most important issue in the short-term and the second most important in the long-term. Offshore wind is seen as of high significance to the sector in the short and long-term.
  • Energy storage is the second most important issue in the short-term and the most important in the long-term, but the industry feels unprepared for what this brings.
  • Electric vehicles and smart cities will become much more important to power industry professionals over the next 20 years.
  • Plant modernisation, onshore wind and capacity market mechanisms are all expected to decline in importance in the longer term.
  • Finance and investment professionals see greater importance in the Middle East and Africa than other respondents.
  • Asia-Pacific is the most important area for investment.
  • Power sector is divided over EU policy and legislation – almost equal numbers thought it was helpful and unhelpful.
  • Europe remains a most important market. Germany was the most important country, with the UK and France taking second and third place respectively.
  • The industry feels underprepared for carbon capture and storage, with a negative 18% confidence rating.
  • Gas is considered to be the most important source of power, with the majority of respondents ranking it in their top three. Wind and nuclear are second and third most important respectively.
  • The industry has a lack of confidence around combating cyber security threats, with a negative 2% confidence rating.

The full report is free to download and is accessible to all through the POWER-GEN Europe website.

The study will be carried out again next year, ahead of and during POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe 2016 in Milan, Italy from 21st – 23rd June, at which time the 2015 results will serve as a benchmark.

Lawrence Slade, Chief Executive, Energy UK, said: “Energy professionals right across Europe face very similar challenges and it is their opinions about the changes taking place that are analysed in this report.”

Mr Slade continues: “Such a barometer of sentiment in the industry is a valuable yardstick for those involved in the sector and for observers, keen to understand the direction and speed of change taking place.”

Nigel Blackaby, Conference Director at POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe, added: “We are hugely excited to launch the POWER-GEN Confidence Index, which will allow the industry to gauge the thoughts and attitudes of professionals across the continent. This is the first time that anything like this has been carried out, and we expect it to be extremely valuable, especially during this period of unprecedented change.”

ENDS

About PennWell events

POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe are owned and organised by PennWell Corporation. Around 10,000 industry professionals attend the events in Europe every year. These events form part of a series staged annually in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and provide exhibitors with an international ‘one-stop-shop’ for penetrating markets and presenting their products and services to a global audience. For delegates and visitors, the events offer a dedicated forum tailored to their specific regional needs, putting them in touch with suppliers of solutions to their particular problems. The conferences address topical issues critical to the development of power generation in the host region. For more information please visit www.powergeneurope.com

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