Beyond the Blades: Lessons from Wind Energy Expo Ireland 2025

It might be an unusual sentiment to take away from a wind energy trade show, but on the way home after two days in the RDS on 22 and 23 October, I couldn’t stop thinking how this wasn’t just about building wind turbines anymore, writes Wind Energy Ireland’s Justin Moran.

Of course, we need them. More, bigger, faster. We need to accelerate the delivery of on and offshore wind farms in Ireland.

But one of the themes that kept recurring in conversations, meetings, panel sessions and casual chats over a coffee, was the need to think beyond wind energy.

It’s also about solar and batteries, about electrification and green fuels, about building a new grid and leading new research, about nothing less than a total and complete transformation of how we move, work, travel, relax and spend our time.

It wasn’t your average trade show. It was a rolling conversation, spreading from the doors to the RDS to the main stage, to the WEI business lounge and networking reception, and to the cafes and the pubs around the venue, bringing together engineers, developers, researchers, innovators and policymakers.

Energy independence

All from different walks of life, from different countries and disciplines, but all sharing one common goal – Irish energy independence.

It was a theme set out from the start in the keynote address from Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke TD whose department is driving the country’s industrial strategy for offshore wind energy.

He highlighted the vital role of renewables in Ireland’s economic growth and the deep partnership needed between clean, affordable power and the next generation of industry and investment that we can bring to Ireland if we have the electricity they need.

Watch: Minister Peter Burke explains how wind energy will transform our economy. 

It fell to his colleague, Minister Timmy Dooley TD, to close the Expo the next day with a galvanising keynote speech that drew a picture of rural and coastal communities revitalised and empowered, using the enormous renewable energy investments we will see across the country to take control of their own economic futures.

And while the ministers – understandably – had to come and go the Government of Ireland stand was staffed through the two days with officials from multiple departments making themselves available to anyone who wants to plan, build, fund, design and develop renewable energy.

Conversations, not PowerPoints

One of the best things about this year’s Expo was how practical the panel sessions were. Participants didn’t just deliver the same old speaking points, they dived in, they challenged, they wanted to shape new thinking and encourage new ways to achieve the old goals of faster planning, stronger grids, fairer markets and a robust supply-chain.

The Research Hub was another hit, giving visitors a chance to see cutting-edge data and talk directly to researchers, giving them new tools and ideas they can apply to their next project.

And there is no end of projects – a 14,000 MW onshore pipeline as our CEO Noel Cunniffe announced at the start of the event – or ideas. One of the great things about a trade show is getting to meet the breadth of the supply-chain.

After seven years working in the industry one of my pleasures at a trade event is to walk up to some company with which I am not familiar and learn a whole new side to our industry.

From start-ups and local supply-chain companies to the big international players, the variety, knowledge and deep experience on show was impressive.

Europe’s offshore revolution

And those international companies – particularly from the Netherlands, Belgium and Britain who were ably represented by national ambassadors and the delegations at their pavilions – are on whom we will rely to build the next generation of onshore wind energy and to, finally, join Europe’s offshore revolution later this decade.

Watch: Dutch Ambassador Maaike van Koldam is excited for Dutch and Irish companies to work together.

We are hugely grateful to our strategic partners for the Expo, RWE and SafetyOn, whose support helped make it a success, and to all of our members and exhibitors for ensuring the event is a landmark in Ireland’s energy calendar.

So, there’s really only one question left to ask; what are you doing next year, around 21 – 22 October? Because there’s no better place to be than back with us, or joining us for the first time, in the RDS.

It’s where you can test your new business idea, where you can find partners for an ambitious project, where you can sit down across the table from the men and women shaping the policies that drive our industry, where you can make your next deal, build your next relationship.

Watch: WEI’s Noel Cunniffe predicts an even bigger Expo next year.

The connections you can make and the ideas you’ll hear are essential to staying informed and competitive in Ireland’s rapidly evolving renewable energy market.

So keep an eye on Wind Energy Ireland’s event page or drop us a line to be added to our mailing list and we’ll see you there next year.