Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza, Spain) will host Foro Sella 2024 on Thursday, May 23. This international conference will bring together national and international experts in industrial energy management to analyze the role of energy as a key to industrial development, with a special focus on Aragón as an industrial attraction hub, as well as the importance of renewables in the new European energy sustainability environment.
The event will feature the participation of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, the Vicepresident of the Government of Aragon, Mar Vaquero, along with representatives from European and local institutions, as well as leading companies in renewable energy management located in Aragón, such as Amazon Web Services, Bon Àrea, and Stellantis.
Under the theme “From the Ground to Data: Electrification, Networks, and Cohesion,” the conference will address, among other issues, whether it is possible to undertake the energy transition of the industry with the technology currently available. Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor at Stanford University and author of “No Miracles Needed: How Today’s Technology Can Save Our Climate and Clean Our Air,” will delve into this issue. He believes that we do not need “miracle technologies” because “we have 95% of the technologies we need to undertake the energy transition. And those we don’t have, we know how to make.”
On the other hand, researcher David Robinson believes that for the success of this transition, technology must be accompanied by greater financing and new regulations in Europe, to create “a more united European market, improving security, promoting effective competition within the EU, and supporting the development of electricity-intensive businesses, where renewable energies are more competitive.” The expert from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies considers that this model “would benefit countries with the most competitive conditions, such as Spain.”
The role of renewables in ensuring European energy supply will be one of the key issues addressed at Foro Sella, specifically in the panel “Spain’s Role in the New European Energy Sustainability Environment.”
Moderated by Julio Tejedor, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Zaragoza, the panel will feature General Miguel Ángel Ballesteros, former director of the National Security Department of the Government of Spain; Fernando Samper García, CEO of wind and solar development at Forestalia; José María Lassalle, former Secretary of State for the Information Society and Digital Agenda; José Ignacio Lallana, delegate in Catalonia, Aragón, and La Rioja for Red Eléctrica; and Pedro Machín, president of the Aragón Energy Cluster.
The event, promoted by Foro Industria y Energía, CEOE Aragón, Forestalia, Opina 360, and the Aragón Energy Cluster, will be held at Hábitat Sella from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Admission is free for in-person or streaming attendance.
Program and registrations: https://forosella.com/