Tumbling offshore wind costs, the big-data revolution, innovation in wind and PV, the transformation of utilities, corporate PPAs, and the roles of batteries and hydrogen in the energy transition – these were just a few of the issues tackled at the 2017 Recharge Thought Leaders Summit.

Held last Thursday amid the spectacular setting of the Holmenkollen Park Hotel high above Oslo, the annual invitation-only event brought together leading figures from the wind and solar sectors, financiers, policy experts and others industrial influencers to discuss the key challenges facing renewables and the wider energy sector in an era of profound upheaval.

The Summit attracted senior speakers and delegates from organisations including Vestas, GE Renewable Energy, Envision Energy, Statoil, First Solar, Huawei, DNV GL and E.ON, as well as industry advocacy bodies the International Renewable Energy Agency, Global Wind Energy Council and the Global Solar Council.

Recharge Editor-in-Chief Darius Snieckus set the tone for the hurdles ahead when he quoted the classical Greek philosopher Heraclitus – “only change is unchanging” – while opening the Summit, which was held under Chatham House rules designed to promote frank, off-the-record debate.

Snieckus reminded the delegates that they are the centre of an energy transition with the most momentous possible outcome at stake – the reversal of the looming catastrophe that is climate change.

Even when the wide ranging programme of the day-long Summit delved deep into the details of clean energy financing or technology, the event never lost sight of that broader agenda.

As one delegate commented, “we are all involved in this transition and we are all responsible”.

There was also plenty of discussion of the growing presence of “big oil” in the renewables sector, and for sources such as wind and solar to push back against the “intermittency” tag that is so often used to disparage them in the eyes of policymakers and the public.

After the Thought Leaders Summit – which was sponsored by Vestas and MHI Vestas – delegates praised the breadth and quality of the sessions and the debate they inspired.

One senior executive from a global OEM said: “I am deeply involved in my own sector and that is my focus, but today I heard from many others who are experts in theirs, and others who gave me a new perspective on the wider energy agenda. I learned a lot.”

Transition

Recharge Thought Leaders bring clarity to an era of change