Austrian president for business forum

Austrian president Dr Heinz Fischer will tomorrow address the Irish Austrian business forum as part of a three-day state visit to Ireland.

Speakers from Enterprise Ireland, IBEC and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber will outline business opportunities in both countries.

The forum will be followed by a showcase of urban technologies, which will feature technologies related to smart cities, sustainable building, mobility, the environment and renewables.

On the subject of renewables, the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) annual conference is taking place in Kilkenny this week.

Speakers will include Endesa Portugal chairman Nuno Ribeiro da Silva, HgCapital director Emma Tinker and Ralf Rant, European chief executive of Brookfield Renewable Energy Group, one of Canada’s largest renewable-energy companies.

Brookfield recently made a major push into Europe with the purchase of 17 Irish wind- energy projects, worth an estimated €700 million. Brookfield also formed part of the consortium that acquired Bord Gáis Energy last March.

IWEA chief executive Kenneth Matthews said the conference will highlight the economic and social benefits if Ireland delivers on its 2020 targets using wind energy.

“We will also be highlighting that more needs to be done to ensure we can deliver the €3.5 billion worth of investment required to deliver a more sustainable energy future for Ireland,” he said.