Buried in a massive 2016 spending bill for energy and water programs are budget cuts for valuable research into wind energy that the U.S. Senate should restore, said the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, chaired by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), passed the spending bill including the…
Bipartisan set of governors urge Congress to pass policy certainty to avoid job loss
Republican and Democrat governors pressed U.S. Senate and House leadership yesterday to extend critically important tax incentives used to grow wind energy and keep good-paying manufacturing jobs here at home. Washington Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee and Iowa Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively of the Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition, co-signed a letter…
WINDPOWER 2015 wraps up in Orlando
As WINDPOWER 2015 wraps up in Orlando, the overall message from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is one of urgency for continued wind advocacy. The industry has come a long way if the technology on the show floor was any indication (there were data-collecting drones, various predictive wind software options, unique cordless tools, and…
AWEA WINDPOWER 2015 Day 3 in review
Floor traffic still seemed modest in the middle day (Wednesday) of the show but exhibitors seemed content that the right people were walking the aisles. The day started with a keynote presentation by college professor at the Wharton School of Business and author of the book Contagious: How things catch on, Jonah Berger. His message…
American wind power at “transformational point in time” as industry attempts to meet Wind Vision
Coming off a year in which the industry added 23,000 jobs and put $23 billion of private investment behind 100 wind projects, new AWEA Board Chair Mike Garland declared it’s time for the industry to start flexing its muscle. “From the smallest companies to the largest, we have a shared responsibility to make this vision…
Photoblog: AWEA WINDPOWER 2015, Day Three
Energy Dept: New wind energy technology unlocks wind development opportunity in all 50 states
New wind resource maps are showing the ability for advanced wind turbines to reach stronger winds higher above the ground, unlocking a previously untapped wind resource area that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says could eventually bring wind energy development to every state in America. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz discussed the new report…
A highlight of WINDPOWER 2015
U.S. energy secretary, Dr Ernest Moniz, spoke at the Opening General Session at AWEA’s WINDPOWER 2015 event today in Orlando, Florida. Moniz stressed that wind power is an important and necessary part of the solution to climate change. Wind could provide five times what it provides today, he said, with a goal of one trillion…
AWEA’s WINDPOWER 2015 Tuesday review
If WINDPOWER 2015 is smaller than last year it’s difficult to tell. Traffic seemed good and the quality of booths attest to the vitality in the wind industry. Here’s what we saw today: Upwind Solution’s Peter Wells presided over a panel session that dealt with the future of operations. Panelists included Microsoft’s Vijay Narayanan who…
AWEA’s Windpower 2015 begins even before the show floor opens
Windpower Engineering & Development editors Michelle Froese and Paul Dvorak are in Orlando Florida covering what is possibly the U.S. wind industry’s most important annual event. Here’s their perspective on the first day’s events. Windpower 2015 began today with presentations by several ABB personnel with the goal of providing ideas for optimizing wind farm operations.…
WINDPOWER 2015 launches in Orlando as wind industry elects new leadership
Just miles from where NASA launches rockets to explore the final frontier, wind power developers, manufacturers, workers, executives, and more from around the world gather today for a four-day exploration into what’s next for wind energy in the U.S. The WINDPOWER 2015 Conference & Exhibition of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) kicks off this…
Wind energy accelerates record growth in first quarter
Strong growth in the U.S. wind energy industry accelerated during the first quarter of 2015, with a near-record 13,600 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity under construction across 100 projects in 23 states. This bumper crop of new wind projects will be on display in less than three weeks when over 8,000 are expected to join…
Estimating the turbines not built, jobs not created, taxes not paid
By any standard, the Production Tax Credit (PTC) was a great success. It lowered the tax rate for developers that encouraged a boom in wind-farm construction. Although the PTC expired in 2014, construction begun that year could still claim the credit. Activity was vigorous. AWEA says 12,700 MW were under construction last year. Better yet,…
AWEA’s statement on the Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Energy Review
Editor’s note: The Department of Energy released its Quadrennial Energy Review (QER), which explores options for modernizing the nation’s energy grid in a secure and cost-competitive manner. It also identifies vulnerabilities in the system and proposes policy recommendations and investments to replace and expand infrastructure where appropriate. Links to the review’s summary and full report…
American wind energy rebounded in 2014; “wind rush” underway in Texas
American wind industry jobs and turbine deployment regained momentum heading into 2015, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported in releasing its 2014 results in the U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report. The U.S. wind industry added 23,000 jobs in 2014, boosting the sector’s total to 73,000 jobs. 2015 began with 12,700 MW of wind…
Market grows for wind energy as leading U.S. brands lock in low prices
As the cost of wind energy has dropped by more than half in just five years, there has been a steady increase in U.S. businesses, governmental agencies, and universities making direct investments in wind power to lock in low prices and reduce their carbon footprints. “Successful brands and businesses increasingly see low-cost wind power as…
“Wind rush” underway across much of America as new turbines access higher wind speeds, opening new areas for development
Advanced wind turbines are accessing faster, steadier winds at higher altitudes, so they can generate more electricity, creating a modern-day “wind rush” as new areas in the Great Lakes states and the Southeastern U.S. become economical sites to develop more wind energy. “Wind turbine technology has advanced in just a few decades from the Model…
Wind and solar industries release handbook to help states use low-cost, reliable renewable energy for compliance with EPA’s Clean Power Plan
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have jointly published a handbook for states detailing how to incorporate renewable energy into state plans to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, the proposed regulation to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants. “Wind energy already cuts power…
Definitive new report shows wind energy can become one of America’s top electricity sources, while saving consumers money
Leaders of the U.S. wind energy industry said their companies and workers can deliver on a bold new vision for wind power to double in America over the next five years and, ultimately, become one of the country’s largest sources of electricity, with the savings to consumers reaching tens of billions of dollars a year.…
Looking out for our avian neighbors
The wind industry gets little credit for its great effort to protect wildlife of all kinds, probably because the effort goes under reported. That work includes the radar detection of approaching birds, controls that change a turbine’s start and stop times, and more. Paul Dvorak, Editor The American Wind Energy Association acknowledges that eagle fatalities…