Soyer: "Izmir is the clean energy capital of the world"
The second WEnergy-Clean Energy Technologies Fair, which was held for the first time this year in Izmir, will be held on 9-11 May 2024. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer said at the introductory meeting of the fair, "We are starting the transformation from Izmir to lead a life in harmony with nature and we say that Izmir is the clean energy capital of the world."
The announcement of WEnergy-Clean Energy Technologies Fair, hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, İZFAŞ, BİFAŞ and EFOR Fuarcılık, with the main sponsorship of Siemens, was made at a press conference.
The launch of the fair, which will be held on 9-11 May 2024 in Izmir, the capital of clean energy, was attended by Tunç Soyer, Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Mahmut Özgener, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Izmir Chamber of Commerce, Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator President of the Aegean Exporters' Associations, Metin Akdaş, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry, Nuray Eyigele İşleyen, General Manager of EFOR Fuarcılık, Ümit Vural, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BİFAŞ Fuarcılık, Barış Karcı, Secretary General of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Şükran Nurlu, Deputy Secretary General of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, general managers of companies affiliated to the Metropolitan Municipality, bureaucrats and sector professionals.
Soyer: "We will say another world is possible"
Stating that they have developed Izmir fair organisation since they took office, Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer said, "We will host the fair for the second time between 9-11 May, and we will say 'Another world is possible. Another energy production is possible!". In our fair, we will come together with our participants from 12 cities in our country, from Istanbul to Gaziantep, from Şanlıurfa to Muğla. More than 200 industry stakeholders from our country and different parts of the world will be with us. Hundreds of visitors, sector professionals and investors will meet at our fair. Organisations, companies and non-governmental organisations serving the energy sector will gather under the roof of Fuar Izmir. The latest technologies in the sector will be exhibited in Izmir, the city of clean energy. The energy of the world will meet in Izmir."
"No ecology, no energy"
Stating that the resources of nature are limited, Mayor Soyer said, "Nature does not take revenge or start wars. Every living thing shares the sun, air, water, soil in harmony and equally. It gives back what it takes from nature. Nature produces only goodness. All the disasters that we think come from nature are the result of our human greed and our abandonment of harmony with each other. We can now clearly see this. Human culture, which sees nature's resources as limited and its own needs as unlimited, is in its final stages. In order to build the world of the future, we have to think about our conscience first and then put our hands to work. Because if there is no ecology, there is no economy. We are starting the transformation from Izmir to lead a life in harmony with nature and we say that Izmir is the clean energy capital of the world."
"We are trying to leave a mark on the future"
Explaining their work, Soyer said, "We prioritised the use of solar energy in the facilities of our municipality. We installed SPPs in our service buildings. We have established a system where our institutions can meet the energy they consume from their roofs. With the investments we made for our nature, we achieved a 540 percent increase in the production of electrical energy from SPPs. In this way, we prevented one thousand 115 tonnes of carbon emissions. We started to generate electricity from organic wastes with our biogas facilities we brought to Izmir. We increased the number of electric vehicles in our municipality's vehicle fleet every year. Our current electric vehicle fleet has reached 120 vehicles. We hope to be one of Türkiye's exemplary cities in the field of electric vehicles, which is rapidly becoming widespread in the world. We transformed our municipal company İzEnerji into a specialised centre working to develop clean energy policies. Making a difference with its local government vision and action plans against the climate crisis, our Municipality was selected among 377 cities for the European Union's Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. With our Green Transformation Programme, our Municipality has initiated a major transformation move to supply 'Renewable Energy Source Certified' electrical energy to İZSU, ESHOT and all our subsidiary companies. I can say this with great sincerity. While doing all these, we are trying to leave a mark not only on the present but also on the future. We are trying to inspire the cities of the future. We will take great steps towards making Izmir a clean energy city. Nevertheless, we know that we are still at the very beginning of the road to produce our energy without harming nature. But we continue to move forward on this path with great determination. Wenergy EXPO is a reflection of this will. It is a seed of fertility that we sprinkled in Izmir. This fair will develop further as a result of the efforts of many institutions that believe that economy and ecology should grow together."
"I am ready to open channels to resolve"
Soyer, who reminded that he was elected as the President of the Council of Europe's Chamber of Regions and said that he could solve the legislative problems experienced by the sector with the European Union, said: "If geography is destiny, we as Türkiye and Izmir will continue to live close and intertwined with Europe. Perhaps the biggest deficiency we have seen so far is that we are only subject to the legislation. We cannot intervene in the process of the formation of those legislations. This presidency is an opportunity for Izmir and Türkiye. If our sector representatives convey to me the solutions they will propose regarding the legislative problems they face in their trade with the European Union, I am ready to open channels to defend and solve them before their interlocutors and I have this opportunity."
Özgener: "The greatest legacy to be left to future generations"
Mahmut Özgener, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Izmir Chamber of Commerce, said, "I said it is one of the most special fairs of our city because this fair is a great organisation that focuses on the life model we need for a more livable and sustainable world, which is the greatest legacy we will leave to future generations. Our high potential in the field of clean energy combined with Izmir's strength in the field of fair organisation resulted in our energy fair, which we organised for the first time" and said that they will provide 80 million liras of support to the fair organisation sector in 2024.
Eskinazi: "We have to do it as soon as possible"
Jak Eskinazi, Coordinator President of Aegean Exporters' Associations, said: "As Türkiye, we have to make clean energy investments as soon as possible. In this way, we will become more competitive compared to our competitors, and we will leave a better world to the next generations. Aegean Region is the leader in clean energy and equipment production. I hope that WEnergy Fair will provide great support to the efforts of the clean energy sector."
Akdaş: "I attach great importance"
Metin Akdaş, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry, said: "I attach great importance to the fact that the WEnergy Fair is hosted by a city like Izmir, which has a high renewable energy potential and is almost one of the leading production centres in Europe in terms of equipment. I would like to thank Mayor Tunç Soyer very much."
Nuray Eyigele İşleyen, General Manager of EFOR Fuarcılık, and Ümit Vural, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BİFAŞ Fuarcılık, gave information about the fair and stated that the fair will grow even more next year.
12.12.2023