Lisbon, 26 February, 2024: The Global Renewables Alliance (GRA) joined founder member the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) for the opening of their new global headquarters, marking the beginning of a new renewables hub in Europe. 

Ben Backwell, Vice-Chair of GRA and CEO of GWEC and Bruce Douglas, CEO of GRA, joined Ana Fontoura Gouveia, Secretary of State for Energy of Portugal, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP, Pedro Amaral Jorge, CEO of APREN, Tang Huiliang, President of Hongteng Cable and Morten Dyrholm, Group Senior Vice President at Vestas to officially welcome GWEC to Lisbon.

“Congratulations to Ben Backwell for his exceptional leadership and vision in setting up this remarkable HQ for global wind energy. This move is proof of GWEC’s commitment to ‘move to a confident green world’ based on collaboration among countries, companies and other stakeholders. We look forward to working together towards a clean, secure and just future with 3xRenewables,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of GRA. 

Portugal, experiencing a second renewables wave with 60% of its current total energy consumption powered by renewables and large investments expansion of innovative renewables generation, and Lisbon’s innovative cleantech sector were key drivers in GWEC’s move.

Ben Backwell, CEO of GWEC said: “The Global Wind Energy Council is delighted to open its new headquarters in Lisbon and ensure we are positioned to support the rapid deployment of renewable energy across the world this decade and beyond.

“Lisbon’s focus on innovation, collaboration and the green economy makes it the perfect home for GWEC’s team. We look forward to working with the local community to help us support accelerated global growth in renewable energy.”

To kickstart this new renewables hub, GWEC invited GRA and well renowned experts and industry leaders from around the world for a day packed with panel discussions on topics ranging from Artificial intelligence, disinformation and social acceptance to supply chains and critical raw materials. 

“The energy transition is rolled out in the midst of polycrises, and today’s panel discussions enlightened us further into how to understand and tackle current and future challenges to ensure that we jointly deliver a global tripling of renewables by 2030,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of GRA.

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