Blogs

Minnesota at Forefront of Community Power Movement

As the state of Minnesota seeks to generate 25 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2025, communities are finding both that they can be part of that solution and that solution can be part of the future of their community.

"This is the biggest investment Willmar Municipal Utilities has ever made," says chief engineer Wes Hompe about a pair of 2-megawatt wind turbines costing nearly $10 million. "What makes it worthwhile? This is the future."

When the Media "Gets It" about Community Wind

One of my pet peeves, as I scan media articles about wind energy, is the number of times when the "community" part of wind energy is either poorly communicated or entirely misunderstood. So it is refreshing to find good stories in major media outlets which truly represent community wind and I feel like I should pass them along. That's the case with

Get Small and Get In

"Get small and get in!" is the new message from the federal government, according to Denis Thoet, who manages Long Meadow Farm in West Gardiner, Maine. In his Kennebec Journal article "Wisdom of helping small farmers begins to take root throughout U.S.," he contrasts USDA programs that for decades have benefited expansive agricultural operations with new programs that can benefit smaller farm operations.

Wind Energy Brings Jobs to Rural America

While South Dakota currently only has 288 megawatts of wind power capacity installed, the state is experiencing the benefits of the wind industry, explains South Dakota Wind Energy Association Executive Director Steve Wegman in a interview by the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.

Environmental Hurdles Stall North Shore Wind Project

Jim Boyd coordinates a wind working group in Grand Marais, Minnesota on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Windustry has been working with the group for over the past year to explore the possibility of a Community Wind project there.

U.S. Wind Energy Usage on the Rise

Wind energy use increases most among renewables

Chart of increases in renewable usage In the first four months of 2009, wind energy expanded 34.5 percent compared to the same months of 2008, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent Monthly Energy Review.

Smart Grid Research

If you think you really know what "smart grid" is all about, raise your hand. OK, so I can't really tell, but, if you're like me, this is a term that sounds great but has very little real content for you. Unfortunately, most media coverage uses this term without any definition, as if we all knew what it was and how it works. So I was pleasantly surprised to read

Nebraska Landowner Wind Energy Association

One of our goals here at Windustry is to link people together across the country who are working in a proactive manner with models of wind energy production that enhance local ownership and are beneficial to rural landowners.

Important news for Wisconsin schools, non-profits and units of government

We Energies will offer grants for qualified We electric customers (not-for-profit, schools and units of government) with the installation of a wind electric system over 20 kW and not more than 100 kW. Customer incentives are provided from We Energies Renewable Energy Development (RED) Program.

Lawyers, Non-profits Shed Light on Wind Industry

Melissa Peterson, program analyst at Windustry, was quoted in the article "Lawyers, non-profits shed light on wind industry" in The Journal [New Ulm] after speaking to farmers, landowners, city and county officials at the Springfield Community Center.

"We've seen these documents range from the good, bad, and ugly," Peterson said.

Peterson added that landowners that form their own wind energy group with local investors can create projects faster and easier than by private firms dealing with individual landowners.

Wind energy use increases most among renewables

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