AWEA Wind Energy: 2010 Fall Symposium:
Laughter filled the general session room on a Thursday mid November morning, as General Colin Powell told one of his many stories that added amusement to his message. His message included some key points that we should all use and take into consideration into our business and everyday lives. “Inspire the followers,” he said, “so that everyone understands one another and are united in a common purpose that is greater than just the goals we are trying to achieve.”
AWEA took a greener road for their Fall Symposium this year; 
sessions were held discussion style versus the traditional power point presentations. The sessions on Thursday focused on the following topics; Policy Outlook, Logistics and Transportation Infrastructure, Finance Treads, Innovation & Technology, and Transmission Solutions. Friday’s sessions focused on Global Marketplace, Federal Financial Incentives Update, and Developing Partnerships with External Stakeholders. After reading the list of topics that took place on Thursday and Friday, policy and finances were hot topics this year. With the uncertainty that is facing the wind industry after the elections, we should take comfort in the fact that AWEA and other organizations/volunteers are working so hard to make sure that the wind industry doesn’t take a back seat during the election aftermath.
For more information on AWEA’s future events, visit their web site at www.awea.org
Feature Project:
Midwest Underground Technologies, Inc. has installed their first 
wind turbine at their Champaign, IL office. MUTI chose to install at Northwind 100 to the West of their office building. Foundation work broke ground the week of December 13th and the turbine was erected during the last week on December 2010. MUTI began installing wind turbines in early 2008 and has most recently dedicated an entire division of the company to this industry. For inquires on Midwest Underground Technologies’ services, please contact Derek Woods at dwoods@mutionline.com or visit their web site at www.mutionlinecom.
Press Release: Introducing Windstrip,LLC
Windstrip is an up and coming company that has taken the vertical turbine to the next level. Windstrip is offering the telecommunications world a greener way to operate their equipment. The idea is to install a vertical wind turbine to either the leg of lattice tower or to a monopole in order to power the telecom companies’ equipment cabinets that are found at every telecom site. The turbine comes with a choice of a 2 tier or 3 tier systems but the overall width of the turbine stays the same. Windstrip is also offering their customers an option of installing solar panels for additional power potential. Windstrip has sites up and running in the United States at a test site in Minnesota. Additional test units will be installed this summer in Jamaica, Grenada, China, and Africa. Their test sites have received positive feedback and currently, Windstrip is looking to expand their product further in the U.S. For more information regarding Windstrip, please contact Brain Plourde at brian.plourde@windstrip.com.
Spinning My Blades: Blog Spot
An interesting discussion question, posted on one of my LinkedIn groups, caught my eye, “What are the biggest challenges facing the wind energy industry in sustaining its growth?” After I read all the comments and everyone’s “2 cents”, I decided that this topic is one of those perfect topics to get a fabulous discussion going. So, here it goes, the top 2 challenges are…
1. Grid Connectivity
2. Lack of a National Energy Policy Regarding Renewables
Running wind farm transmission lines is a costly expense but necessary. Transmission lines are needed to carry the harvested energy from one state to the next. With the lack of transmission lines, the wealth (energy) cannot be shared. I know that if you are reading this, you may already know most of the facts but did you 
know that Indiana households are now facing an estimated $40 million a year increase in the coming years for grid expansion! That roughly equals a $2.00 increase per household each month. The $40 million dollar funds are helping to bring energy from a wind farm in North Dakota down to the Midwest States like Illinois and Indiana. The good news is that the industry is working on expanding the grid. The bad news is that the costs are being passed down to households who may not see the benefits for many years.
With elections past us, what will the New Year bring us; a long term National Energy Policy? Don’t hold your breath! This topic is very frustrating for people and tends to be a sore subject but this is a necessary discussion that needs to happen. In the history of the United States there has never been a National Energy Policy. Currently, local and state governments have the responsibility to put their own Energy Policies in place. The State Energy Polices range from setting their own guidelines to energy consumption, to tax incentives and set back guidelines.
Have you ever taken the time to look up each States Energy Polices? It can be mind blowing and overwhelming to read how each State handles renewable energy so differently. There is a great web site to help keep track of the ever changing State regulations called dsireusa.org/. What makes this web site wonderful is that you can either look for incentives and set back guidelines by State or look up tax incentives by Federal government. If you are interested in helping to lobby for a long term National Energy Policy, check with you local renewable energy group. With the work of many renewable energy groups and their supporters in local governments and in Washington; I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some day, some day soon, the US will have a long term National Energy Policy.
This question is not only a great topic to ask your friends and co-workers, but is also a great ice breaker question to ask when meeting fellow colleagues. I encourage you to ask your fellow co-workers this question and take notes on the answers you hear. You never know when you might learn something new. What Can W-T Renewable Energy Division Do For You?
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Email leslie.freeman@wtengineering.com for more information!