Corio Generation’s Jonathan Cole is the new chair of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), succeeding Vestas’ Morten Dyrholm who has held the post since 2016.
Cole – chief executive at offshore wind developer Corio and formerly a senior executive with Iberdrola – was elected by a meeting of the GWEC board today (Wednesday).
He said the industry faces a new set of challenges and opportunities as it passes the one terawatt installed mark this year.
“While this is an immense achievement, it still represents only a small portion of what we must build in the coming years in order to decarbonise our planet,” said Cole.
“To avert a climate catastrophe with devastating impacts on communities and ecosystems everywhere, we must rapidly transform our economies, scaling up wind capacity to reach at least 8TW by mid-century.
“There is no time and no need to delay. In all scenarios, investing in wind energy will deliver clean, reliable, affordable power, boosting security of supply and price stability and creating sustainable jobs. In order to achieve these benefits, the private and public sectors must come together to accelerate investment and clear the path for delivery.”
Cole said his predecessor Dyrholm, Vestas’ SVP for marketing, communications, sustainability and public affairs, had “been a tremendous ambassador for the whole wind industry and overseen an extraordinary period in the association’s growth”.
