The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE) of King Mongkut ' s University of Technology Thonburi and CMP Media (Thailand) Co Ltd are pleased to announce the holding of the World Renewable Energy Congress 2009 - Asia (WREC 2009 - Asia) , during 19-22 May 2009, in Bangkok, Thailand. The congress is fully endorsed by the World Renewable Energy Network — a non-profit organization affiliated to UNESCO — which aims to promote interactions among key players in addressing the sustainable energy services needs of both developed and developing countries.

There has been a phenomenal growth in the development of renewable energy worldwide over the past few years, both for heat and power, and transport for fuels. In 2007 alone, over 71 billion USD were invested in renewable energy capacity. Although fossil fuels still contribute the largest share of total final energy at 79%, renewable energy, including traditional use of biomass and hydropower, contributes a non-negligible 18%, followed by nuclear at 3%.

However, many countries in Asia, including Thailand , are in the process of rapid economic growth which causes a dramatic increase in the demand for energy resources and services. The situation is aggravated by the continued hike in oil prices and the threat of climate change. Therefore in the face of the twin issues of climate change and energy security, Asian economies are at the center stage of accelerated development and deployment of renewable energy systems, be they bioenergy, biofuels, hydropower, wind or solar. Despite impressive headway made in this direction, tremendous technical, social, financial and market barriers still exist for widespread application of renewable energy technologies. The removal of these barriers presents both
technological and policy challenges.

In this connection, it is our pleasure to invite you to contribute papers and or participate in the world renewable energy congress (WREC), a major recognized forum bringing together policy
makers, researchers, manufacturers, economists, financiers,
sociologists, environmentalists and others to exchange
knowledge and information either informally or as part of plenary and technical sessions.