All-Energy 2020 cancelled as Covid-19 crisis continues

All-Energy Australia will not take place in 2020. The Melbourne event’s cancellation was announced today, in a move the organisers have described as being the “best option” despite previous optimism the event would go ahead.

The event was scheduled to take place on October 21 and 22 at the Melbourne Exhibition Center.

Solar industry events around the world have had to face the difficult decision as to whether to reschedule, cancel or go ahead with trade shows and conferences in 2020. While the vast SNEC event in Shanghai will open tomorrow, having been postponed from its scheduled April date, others cancelled all in-person events outright – such as Intersolar Europe. There are plans for the major U.S. solar show, the Solar Power International, to take place in an outdoor setting in Las Vegas – although some industry insiders believe that even that may prove impossible.

Reed Exhibitions and the Clean Energy Council, which are the organisers of All-Energy Australia, noted that the “recent escalation” in Covid-19 cases in Australia had dashed earlier hopes that the event could take place.

“Whilst we are disappointed that we are unable to meet face-to-face in Melbourne this October, we remain committed to keeping the renewable energy industry, our customers, partners and attendees connected in the coming months.”

Until its cancellation this year, All-Energy Australia had been experiencing rapid growth. In 2019, the event attracted over 10,000 attendees – representing a 20% expansion over the previous year. There were 290 exhibitions.

The event had been keenly anticipated, although the second wave of Covid-19 infections had caused growing doubts as to whether it could go ahead. It had already become clear that international and many interstate visitors would have been unable to attend.

All-Energy’s free-to-attend conference and plenary sessions had proven a popular format – alongside the product launches and networking on the trade show floor and burgeoning roster of offsite events. In 2019, pv magazine Australia launched its first All-Energy Australia live blog, providing coverage of happenings across both day one and day two of the event.

Reed Exhibition is encouraging exhibitors and partners to contact their account managers regarding bookings and has provided an email for customer service enquiries: info@all-energy.com.au.