WREN is a major non-profit organization registered in the United Kingdom with charitable status and affiliated to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, the Deputy Director General of which is its honorary President. It has a Governing Council, an Executive Committee and a Director General. It maintains links with many United Nations, governmental and non-governmental organisations. Established in 1992 during the second World Renewable Energy Congress in Reading, UK, WREN supports and enhances the utilisation and implementation of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

sources that are both environmentally safe and economically sustainable. This is done through a worldwide network of agencies, laboratories, institutions, companies and individuals, all working together towards the international diffusion of renewable energy technologies and applications. Representing most countries in the world, it aims to promote the communication and technical education of scientists, engineers, technicians and managers in this field and to address itself to the energy needs of both developing and developed countries. Over two billion dollars have now been allocated to projects dealing with renewable energy and the environment by the ''World Solar Summit'' and ''World Solar Decade'' along with the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

Global Activities of WREC/WREN

The global activities of the World Renewable Energy Congress / Network encompass: *Newsletter *Regional meetings *Scientific publications *Targeted books and annual magazine *Workshops on renewable energy topics *Journal publication "Renewable Energy" *Competitions and awards promoting renewable energy *International congresses (World Renewable Energy Congress, WREC)

Mission statement

''With the accelerated approach of the global climate-change point-of-no-return the need to address the pivotal role of renewable energy in the formation of coping strategies, rather than prevention, is more crucial than ever. Sustainability, green buildings, and the development of the large-scale

renewable energy industry The renewable-energy industry is the part of the energy industry focusing on new and appropriate renewable energy technologies. Investors worldwide are increasingly paying greater attention to this emerging industry. In many cases, this has transl ...

must be at the top of all development, economic, financial and political agendas. The time for action has arrived. Prevention and questioning how and why we face this great challenge is a luxury we can no longer indulge. We welcome the establishment of the long overdue International Renewable Energy Agency which we hope will work side-by-side with similar intergovernmental agencies striving for the adoption of renewable energies. ''

Major events

The major event organised by WREC/WREN is the biennial congress, normally held during the summer of every even year. The congresses are mostly run and organised by the WREC headquarters which are in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, UK. All members of WREC/WREN are entitled to bid to host the Congress. The WREC/WREN Council meets and decides the location based on: availability of local funding and sponsorship; ease of travel to the location; extent of host government and institutional support; benefits to the local country. All local organisation and services must be provided by the host country. The first three congresses were held in the UK (

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

), followed by a move to

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

(United States) and then to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

(Italy). In the year 2000 the congress returned to the UK (Brighton) with every effort being made to ensure that this event enhanced the recognition of Renewable Energies in the new millennium. In 2002 the congress took place in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(Germany) and 2004 once more in Denver (USA). In 2006 the congress was held in Florence (Italy) and in 2008 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

(UK). The next congresses will be in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

(

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

) in 2010 and in Denver (USA) in 2012 respectively. The following table shows the statistics for the previous WREC conferences:

Purpose of WREC

At no time in modern history has energy played a more crucial role in the development and well being of nations than at present. The source and nature of energy, the security of supply and the equity of distribution, the environmental impact of its supply and utilization, are all crucial matters to be addressed by suppliers, consumers, governments, industry, academia, and financial institutions. The World Renewable Energy Congress (WREC), a major recognised forum for networking between these sectors, addresses these issues through regular meetings and exhibitions, bringing together representatives of all those involved in the supply, distribution, consumption and development of energy sources which are benign, sustainable, accessible and economically viable. WREC enables policy makers,

researchers Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

economists An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

financiers An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of i ...

sociologists This list of sociologists includes people who have made notable contributions to sociological theory or to research in one or more areas of sociology. A * Peter Abell, British sociologist * Andrew Abbott, American sociologist * Margaret ...

, environmentalists and others to present their views in Plenary and Technical Sessions and to participate in discussions, both formal and informal, thus facilitating the transfer of knowledge between nations, institutions, disciplines and individuals.

WREC Renewable Energy Awards

The WREC Renewable Energy Awards were established in 1998, during the 5th edition of the WREC Congress in Florence as a way to recognize outstanding achievement and vision in the global renewable energy sector. The WREC Renewable Energy Awards aim at highlighting the worldwide best-implemented policies, projects and research in the following topics: *

Fuel Cells A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in req ...

and

Hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

* Low Energy Architecture *

Solar Energy Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is a ...

* Wind Technology *

Biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

Sustainable Transport Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...

Green Energy Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the environment, the economy, and so ...

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

WREC/WREN Aims and Objectives

WREN is a non-profit UK company (reg. no. 1874667) limited by guarantee and not having a share capital, incorporated in 1990 as a registered charity (No. 1009879), with registered offices in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The aims and objectives of WREC/WREN are as follows:http://www.enf.cn/expo/33x.html
/ref> #Ensuring renewable energy takes its proper place in the sustainable supply and use of energy for greatest benefit of all, taking due account of research requirements, energy efficiency, conservation, and cost criteria. #Assisting and promoting the real local, regional and global environmental benefits of renewable energy. #Promoting the innovation, diffusion and efficient application of economic renewable energy technologies. #Enhancing energy supply security without damage to the environment. #Widening energy availability, especially in developing countries and rural areas. #Promoting business opportunities for renewable energy projects and their successful implementation. #Ensuring the financing of, and institutional support for, economic renewable energy projects. #Encouraging improved information and education on renewable energy. #Involving young people in information and education on renewable energy with a parallel, closely #integrated programme. #Providing a technical exhibition where manufacturers and others can display their products and services. #Strengthen and expand the effectiveness of Networking among nations, institutions, agencies, organizations and individuals in research, application, commercialization and education of renewable energy technology. #Providing a forum within which participants voice their achievement and thought at various parts of the world.

References

External links

The Ultimate Electricity Plans GuideInternational Renewable Energy CongressThe International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
{{Authority control Renewable energy organizations