Powering systemic change: cultivating collaboration to grow the clean energy sector

In 2003, the EU set renewable electricity targets which, despite their limitations, ignited the renewable energy industry. To accelerate its growth of the industry, Green Power Global was launched, aiming to help some of the newer EU markets in Central and Eastern Europe meet their renewable electricity targets.

In the early days, there was little thought that renewables could ever compete with fossil fuels and as such we also sought to take advantage of the EU ETS and global carbon markets to use various government schemes to fund emission reduction projects so that we might help to “level the playing field” against the heavily subsidised fossil fuels. Accordingly, we developed and self funded a global series of 10 annual events, including Carbon Markets USA, Carbon Markets Asia and Voluntary Carbon Markets. In 2005 we ran the first Renewable Energy Finance conferences in Hong Kong, igniting interest in renewables in China.

We also helped accelerate the nascent biobased markets through the World Bio Markets Congress.  In 2007 Al Gore addressed 1500 executives who were looking at the potential for 2nd generation biofuels, biobased power and biobased chemicals to provide an alternative to petrochemical based value chains.

In 2007 we also launched our first solar technology event and since then we have helped accelerate renewable power project development across the globe.

In 2013, utility-scale solar projects flourished in Chile's Atacama Desert whilst in the US,  with support from Green Power Global's Solar Power Generation event in Las Vegas, multiple new projects were given planning permits as a result of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) breakfast briefing.

In 2014, the potential of Mexico's Sonora Desert began to be realised, its output achieving what were, at the time, record low prices for solar electricity at auctions. Meanwhile, following meetings at our Geopower Asia Congress in Jakarta, geothermal power projects obtained financing.  Building on the success achieved in Chile and Mexico, we expanded our events into Argentina, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay.

In 2017, solar energy was sold in Chile at the lowest price ever. By this point our Mexican and Argentinian events were attended by 1500+ attendees. The events were then transferred to a global media business so that they could continue their development around locally based offices. Furthermore, in that same year, the success of World Biofuels Markets Congress resulted in its transferral to a biobased media title.

In 2018, with renewable energy accounting for 70% of global power capacity additions, the energy transition was still insufficient given that it was largely confined to the electron market. In order to address the next phase of the energy transition we exited our Latin American Renewable Electricity Portfolio and we launched the World Hydrogen Congress in order to look beyond electronic and power solutions and to target deep decarbonization in heat and mobility molecule markets.

2019-20 was the worst ever fire season in Australia with conservative estimates projecting losses of over one billion mammals, birds and reptiles combined. In the same year, Green Power Global developed and launched clean hydrogen training courses.

In 2020, global travel was cancelled due to COVID, leading to the Green Power Global's World Hydrogen Congress being run virtually. This gave rise to World Hydrogen Leaders digital training and networking platform. The following year, the World Hydrogen Congress took place successfully with the delegates meeting in person. Hydrogen's role as a crucial component in the clean energy transition was solidified.

In 2022, Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine disrupted global methane markets. Meanwhile, the World Hydrogen Global Series of Congresses was successfully launched and 2000+ executives graduated from World Hydrogen training courses and events.