Interview with Simeon de la Torre, Editor-in-Chief, PES Magazine in The Windfair Newsletter

Simeon de la Torre: There’s no doubt that the onshore sector has been a tremendous success in the UK in the past decade, although it does seem to have slowed in recent years – understandable, given the economic climate. We do have an extremely vocal anti wind lobby here in Britain and they have undeniably slowed the pace of change. Nevertheless, the political atmosphere is such that I do believe that we will soon pick-up speed.


Windfair: And offshore?

Simeon de la Torre: Offshore in the UK has a very bright future, especially in Scotland, which is a world leader in the sector. Ultimately, we’re a small island – and while that means that objections to onshore developments can be fierce, we have an abundance of sites for offshore. Politically, the government is committed to wind power, and I think it favours it slightly more than other renewable technologies. What are the chances? Excellent.


Windfair: How long has PES been on the market? And how has your circulation developed since then?

Simeon de la Torre: PES has been around for nearly a decade, and we are growing our circulation year on year. We’ve invested a great deal of time, money and effort into increasing our database, and we’re extremely proud of our booming readership. For a publishing company, it’s a healthy situation.


Windfair: What is the ratio of wind energy content in your magazine?

Simeon de la Torre: 100 per cent. Ours is a dedicated wind sector magazine that is totally focussed upon the industry. (We also publish a specific solar/PV title.)


Windfair: How international is your magazine? In how many countries and in which ones is PES available?

Simeon de la Torre: We publish three international editions in the world’s biggest markets: Europe, North America and China. Each of these is distributed extensively throughout the continent – I could give you a list, but it wouldn’t end! And of course, you can find us online at www.pes.eu.com


Windfair: Are you working with international partners?

Simeon de la Torre: Certainly; collaboration is a vital part of our business (and it’s also something that we’re seeing more and more from the contributing companies in our magazine). We work with a host of different organisations to bring our readers the very best content: everyone from the EWEA and AWEA to the Fraunhofer Institute and the EC. By forging strong links and maintaining these relationships, we’ve been able to break stories first, and get the inside scoop on the industry at large. Long may it continue!


Windfair: What would you consider the biggest challenge your magazine has
had to confront within the last years?

Simeon de la Torre: I’m not sure that we’ve had so much of a specific challenge. It was a little tough a couple of years ago, when the world’s economy seemingly collapsed overnight, but we had the vision and resources to ‘ride out the storm’. If anything, the magazine has gone from strength to strength, with more issues, more advertisers, more content and a greater reach. We’re in a very fortunate position.

Windfair: Congratulations and good luck for the future! Thank you very much for the interview.