One of Australia’s leading annual clean energy events, the All-Energy Australia conference and exhibition has been cancelled for 2020, as its host city, Melbourne, remains firmly in the grip of a second wave of Covid-19.
The organisers of All-Energy, the Clean Energy Council and Reed Exhibitions, announced the decision late on Thursday, opting to cancel the October 21-22 event outright and turn their focus to planning All-Energy 2021.
The cancellation is one of many for the clean energy industry – and all others, for that matter – but hits particularly hard considering the significance of All-Energy Australia, which last year attracted more than 10,400 renewables industry professionals from across the country and overseas – a record for the event.
As far back as April, Australia’s Smart Energy Council took the unprecedented step of cancelling its flagship annual conference and exhibition for 2020 – not long after pushing it out to September.
SEC CEO John Grimes said at the time that the cancellation was about being realistic and responsible, with the likelihood of any gatherings involving more than 5,000 people in the near-to-medium-future looking “pretty limited.”
All-Energy’s organisers said this week that they had been optimistic the 2020 edition would go ahead, being so late in the year, but that the second wave of Covid-19, which has hit Victoria and Melbourne particularly hard, left them with no choice.
“After closely monitoring the rapidly escalating COVID situation and in consultation with our partners, the Clean Energy Council, we have made the decision to cancel the upcoming edition of All-Energy Australia 2020,” a statement said.
“We are in unprecedented times and continue to witness first-hand the challenging impact of COVID-19 on all industries, both professionally and personally.
“We appreciate this is disappointing news, but we have made this decision with everyone’s health and safety as our number one priority. We can now look ahead to the 2021 edition of All-Energy Australia.”
In contrast with other such cancellations, no mention was made of moving the conference segment of All-Energy 2020 to an online forum, beyond a commitment to “keeping the renewable energy industry, our customers, partners and attendees connected in the coming months.”
Attendees or participants with any questions have been urged to contact their account manager or the customer service team at info@all-energy.com.au.
