Windustry, and hundreds of others in the community wind world, will be in Albany, New York on April 14-16 for Community Wind Energy 2008. This is a national conference where all sorts of people can come together to support and encourage community wind.
One of the hardest things we have to do here at Windustry is tell people that they shouldn't try to put up a wind turbine. Most times, people don't want to hear that. They think that we should support any and all wind energy.
The truth is: we're in favor of wind energy when it makes sense. No energy source is a good fit for every situation, and wind energy is no different. In fact, it makes us sad to see wind turbines in inappropriate applications.
The 2XtM (To Cross the Moon) snowkiting expedition is setting off across North Dakota today. The expedition is using their adventure to bring awareness of the state's amazing wind resource to the communities that stand to benefit from ND wind development.
You can learn more about the expedition on their website (www.2xtm.com), which features news updates, a blog, and a map to track their progress.
Rapid growth in the wind industry is often cited as one of the challenges for community wind, as demand for turbines, parts, services, and just about everything else outpaces the supply. Last week we got a glimpse of just how fast that growth is, courtesy of a news release from the American Wind Energy Association.
We've made an exciting connection with the folks at 2XtM (To Cross the Moon). They're putting together a snowkiting expedition accross North Dakota to highlight the state's amazing wind resource and encourage wind energy there.
Windustry has signed on as an Education and Community Outreach Partner, and we'll be helping get good information in to the hands of people accross the state.
KENNEBUNKPORT — Walker's Point is a little greener these days. Last week, a 33-foot-tall windmill was installed to generate electricity for the oceanfront home of former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
The "flip," sometimes referred to as the "Minnesota flip," is a fairly common business structure for community wind projects. This structure grew out of the fact that the main federal incentive for wind production--the production tax credit--can be difficult for local projects (which typically have a low passive tax appetite) to use effectively.
When people call our information hotline, one of the most common things I tell them is to learn as much as they can about projects that have been done before. Timing and other circumstances mean that no two community wind projects will ever be identical, but you can learn a lot (and avoid reinventing a whole bunch of wheels) by reading up on other projects.
PBS has a great series of shows about "the economies of being environmentally conscious," which includes an episode titled "Harvesting the Wind." This episode features none other than community wind in SW Minnesota.
The 2007 Saint Index© survey on attitudes toward real estate development showed that there has been a dramatic increase in support for building new power plants over the last year. However, there were two specific points that were surprising:
