Should you come to Financing Wind Europe or not?

Wondering whether to join us for our annual conference? Here's our guide to who would benefit most from it. For more details of upcoming conferences, visit our conference site.

If you haven't been to Financing Wind before, then I bet you’re asking yourself whether this is worth the money and the time out of the office. Quite right too. It’s what I’d be doing! And so, in this post, I’ll share some key information to help you decide either way.

Have you read our other posts?

My first piece of advice in trying to come to this decision is looking at two other posts that we’ve published on the blog recently. The first is a basic introduction to the ‘who what when where why’ of Financing Wind Europe and us at A Word About Wind; and the second answers the most common questions that people ask before signing up.

Read: What is Financing Wind Europe? http://membership.awordaboutwind.com/blog/what-is-financing-wind-europe

Read: 7 Most Common Questions About Financing Wind Europe

http://membership.awordaboutwind.com/blog/7-most-frequently-asked-questions-about-financing-wind-europe

If you’ve read these then you know the conference is set to focus on what we see as the biggest topics about the financial side of Europe’s wind industry; and how they’re relevant to the strategies to a wide range of firms on the financial and technical sides of the industry. You’ll also know that we’re aiming to attract around 250-300 people a day, which ensures that networking is more focused than at a large trade show.

But should you be one of those 250-300 people? Here are some questions for you.

1) Do you want to hear about the financial side of the industry?

We set up A Word About Wind because we felt that the financial side of the industry was underserved in the conference agendas of the large trade associations, and we wanted to change that. Like any sector, the wind industry needs money to grow.

We’re going to be sharing information on key investment trends and risks; emerging markets in which we think our members should be looking to grow, both onshore and offshore; and also the important trends that are shaping the offshore industry. In our view, this is important for whichever part of the wind world you work in.

If you want to learn about the financial side of the wind industry then this could be for you, but how about you check out the latest version of our agenda to find out more.

Read the latest agenda for Financing Wind Europe here. The 2019 agenda will be released soon.

Do you want to speak to a lot of widget manufacturers?

We’re going to be perfectly honest with you. If you want to go into a huge conference hall and spend three days talking to a load of widget manufacturers, this isn’t for you. We work with a select number of sponsors and are open to our members only. We’re not interested in filling a room with stands from a huge number of widget makers.

That said, manufacturers are very welcome. We are confident that there’ll be a load of great insights from our speakers that can help you to get a deeper appreciation of how the market is changing, and in which markets you should be investing.

We want to bridge the gap between the financial and technical sides of the market. But don’t expect to leave clutching the business cards of 100 component makers.

3) Are you looking to raise funds or considering doing so?

Over the years, we’ve learnt a few of the reasons that people come to our events – and one is that they are looking to raise funds for their expansion. These individuals come to our events to learn about who’s investing in what and why, and to network with those on the financial side of the industry.

If this is a focus for you right now then we think Financing Wind Europe should be a step on your journey. But we would say that, wouldn’t we?

4) Are you struggling to make strong industry connections?

If you’re looking to make connections across the sector but are struggling to do so, then Financing Wind Europe could be for you. We attract attendees from across our 2,500-strong community as well as our high-level speakers, which means that there will be interesting people in the room for you to network with.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. Here are some recent testimonials:

The final decision is up to you, of course, and we hope this has helped a bit. If you want to talk to one of our team to find out whether Financing Wind Europe is a good fit for you and your business, please get in touch with my colleague Zoe Wicker (membership@awordaboutwind.com) who would be delighted to help.

For more details of upcoming conferences, click below...