Perspectives: Bringing You the World

I know I’ve written here before about how the Internet has made the world a smaller place by bringing information to our fingertips. I think back to the days when, as magazine editors, the majority of our correspondence with people outside of our country was conducted via a fax machine, and I’m thankful technology has advanced the way it has. (I will never again have to pull out a little book to look up a country code so I can send a fax, nor check the machine to discover the fax didn’t go through because I entered the number incorrectly.)

A little over a year ago, in this magazine, we embraced the idea of speaking to the global hydroelectric industry with one voice. That was when we discontinued publication of our HRW-Hydro Review Worldwide, which covered the hydro market outside of North America, and brought our outreach to the world of hydropower together in a single publication, Hydro Review. Now, in every issue, readers can find case studies, lessons learned and valuable perspectives on hydropower from a variety of countries.

We were already taking a global view with our website, HydroWorld.com. There we present news and information spanning the globe, and we offer a World Regions page where users can find information of interest on any one of five regions. This approach made sense from the beginning, referencing back to my comment about the Internet making the world a smaller place.

We also were already taking a global view with our HydroVision International event. Each year, professionals travel to different U.S. locations to take part in the world’s largest hydro industry event. We are proud that a broad subset of the speakers in our 13 conference tracks hail from outside of North America. And we have many conference delegates who meet this criterion as well. In fact, HydroVision International 2018 in Charlotte, N.C., U.S., has attracted hydro professionals from more than 50 countries.

The Hydro Group will continue to focus the information it provides on a global scale. And here’s where I bring you an exciting and important announcement I hope will help us focus even more strongly on worldwide waterpower:

In March 2018, PennWell Corporation was acquired by Clarion Events, one of the world’s leading events organizers. Clarion Events is based in London, and this acquisition creates one of the largest events companies in the world.

The synergies between PennWell and Clarion Events are undeniable. Clarion Events has a strong presence in energy industry events in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The company operates more than 180 events in 15 countries. Some events of interest are the global Utility Week events in Africa, Asia, Australia, China, Europe, and Latin America. Clarion also organizes one event geared specifically toward renewable energy: the Africa Renewable Energy Forum.

PennWell organizes and manages more than 40 exhibitions and conferences around the world, with many of these in the U.S. Notable for this industry is HydroVision International, and we also organize the DistribuTECH and POWER-GEN International events.

This acquisition brings great opportunities to expand our global coverage of hydropower and to get hydro included in power industry events occurring around the world.

I’m excited about the prospects as we continue to bring the globe to the desktops, laptops and mobile devices of every single member of the hydro industry, and to them in person through our events. I welcome this opportunity to strengthen even further our position as the trusted voice connecting the global market.

Elizabeth Ingram

Managing Editor