10 December, 2003. Those wishing to arrange a side event at the International Conference for Renewable Energies in the coming year or to participate in the Conference exhibition should register now via the website www.renewables2004.de , where the application procedure has just been set up. Thirty to forty side events will be taking place during the Conference on around 700 square meters of exhibition area. "We are expecting far more proposals than we can find room for during the four-day Conference and on the limited exhibition area," says Franz-Josef Batz, Head of the Conference Secretariat, which is preparing and organizing renewables 2004 on behalf of the German government. German Chancellor Gerhard Schr�der invited the international community to this Conference, which is to take place June 1-4, 2004, at the International Congress Center Bundeshaus Bonn (IKBB), when he spoke at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in September 2002 in Johannesburg.

Because of the numerous inquiries, the deadline for applications has been extended until March 15, 2004: national and international companies, organizations and institutions may submit their proposals for side events or exhibits via the registration form on the Internet. A committee set up by the Conference conveners will decide upon selection in the new year. Decisive is the creation of a regional, thematic and institutional balance. "People attending the Conference will enjoy an interesting, multi-faceted and international program all about renewable energy," explains Batz.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) are hosting the Conference for the German government. On behalf of these two ministries, the Deutsche Gesellschaft f�r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (German Technical Cooperation) has set up a Conference Secretariat in Eschborn near Frankfurt on the Main. Further information at: www.renewables2004.de