Read Windustry's
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Windustry E-Newsletter
October 2009
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USDA Selects Windustry to Form Landowner Wind Energy Association Resource Center
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced 58 recipients selected
to receive $8 million in grants to spur economic
development in rural communities, including Windustry to form the Landowner Wind Energy
Association Resource Center. The Center will provide technical
assistance to four rural small businesses to analyze, organize, develop and
expand rural wind energy projects. Windustry will work with businesses
seeking to construct wind projects in Montana, West Virginia and
Wisconsin.
"Rural businesses are the lifeblood of rural communities and their
financial health is vital as we work to create jobs and expand
entrepreneurship throughout the country," Vilsack said. "The funding we
are announcing today will help lay the foundation for economic growth
in many communities, consistent with the Obama Administration's vision
of rebuilding and revitalizing rural America."
The funds are being provided through the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program, which
finances development of small and emerging rural business.
Read more and access the USDA announcement
Read Windustry's: Introduction to Introduction to Landowner Wind Energy Associations (LWEA)
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Rural Energy for America Program
USDA Announces $13 Million in REAP Grants and Loans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing more
than $13 million in loans and grants for 233 renewable energy projects
in 38 states under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The
loan guarantees and grants will help agricultural producers and rural
small businesses to conduct energy audits and feasibility studies for
renewable energy systems, for renewable energy development assistance,
and to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy
efficiency improvements.
As an example of a project, Milford Wind Energy, LLC, Story City, Iowa,
has been selected to receive a $1.8 million guaranteed loan and a
$500,000 grant to build a 900 kilowatt wind turbine for energy
generation. When complete, the turbine is expected to produce nearly
3.3 million kilowatts of electricity annually and generate more than
$200,000 in electricity that will be sold to the local utility company.
Construction of the turbine is expected to be completed next year.
Read more about the USDA REAP Funding Announcement
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Wind Energy Center a Big Success
350,000 Visitors through The Eco Experience at MN State Fair
Windustry thanks all of the volunteers for their exceptional work
at the Wind Energy Center in The Eco Experience at the 2009 Minnesota State Fair.
Because
of their passion for wind energy and willingness to donate time,
the Wind Energy Center
was a huge success! We are continually amazed by what a wealth of
information
our volunteers and visiting experts provide, along with our staff, to a
public that is eager to learn about Community Wind. The overall quality
and dedication of this year's volunteers was
incredible! Here are some numbers for 2009:
-
This year was a record State Fair attendance of 1,790,497.
- Over 350,000 visitors went through The Eco Experience.
- The Wind
Energy Center
had 90 volunteers and over 425 hours of time donated.
- Over 650 hours of Windustry staff hours were contributed
to planning and staffing.
Check out these web galleries to view photographs from
The Eco Experience and the Wind Energy Center:
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Windustry Celebrates Women of Wind Energy: Launch of New Web Site
Women of Wind Energy (WoWE) was founded in 2005
to ensure that women can play a full, productive role in the
development of wind power. Lisa Daniels, executive director of
Windustry, was one of the founding members, along with Trudy Forsyth
and Mia Devine. Windustry has provided technical services and a web
site section to WoWE for over four years. This year WoWE incorporated
as an independent nonprofit, launched a
search for their first fulltime executive director, created a new logo,
and developed a web site.
 WoWe
is a nonprofit organization that promotes the engagement,
professional development, and advancement of women in the wind industry
through it's programs and services. Each year WoWE honors two
outstanding women of wind with a Woman of the Year award and a Rising
Star honoree. WoWE offers Rudd Mayer Memorial Fellowships to women
students to attend the annual AWEA WINDPOWER conference. And, WoWE
sponsors a mentoring program to help the next generation of industry
leaders to emerge.
Windustry
has been a proud supporter of WoWE over the years, and we invite your
to visit their new web site for more information:
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Big Green Conference
Green Growth for Business:
How and Why it Benefits the Bottom Line
Join local government and business leaders as they discuss proposed policy framework for regulating greenhouse gas emissions
and the incentives for businesses to become more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable.
October 15, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Mall of America
Bloomington, MN 55425
Incentives for Sustainable Development
Representative Jeremy Kalin, Minnesota House of Representatives Craig Johnson, League of Minnesota Cities Richard Graves, Secretary, U.S. Green Building Council Greenhouse Gas and Permitting Regulation Representative Kate Knuth, Minnesota House of Representatives David Thornton, Assistant Commissioner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Renewable Energy Grants Bill Glahn, Director of Minnesota Office of Energy Security Janet Streff, Manager, Minnesota Office of Energy Security Randy Hagen, Owner, Solar Skies Manufacturing, LLC Green Strategies Terry Hayden, Reluminate Inc. Rachelle Schoessler Lynn, CID, ASID, LEED AP, Studio 2030 Arif Quraishi, Building Efficiency Division, Johnson Controls, Inc. Lunch Presentation Featuring Polar Explorer and Environmental Activist, Will Steger Introduction by Mayor Gene Winstead, City of Bloomington A stunning visual account of his exploration and the effects of global warming on the polar ice caps Implementation of Green Technology and Energy Efficient Practices Jim Faulconbridge, Principal of Karges-Faulconbridge, Inc. Kurt Hagen, Vice President of Development, Mall of America Company Larry Lee, Director of Community Development, City of Bloomington Mario Monesterio, Founder and Principal, Westwood Renewables Nathan Franzen, General Manager, Westwood Renewables Representatives from the U.S. Green Building Council's Green Schools Initiative Mall of America Recycling Center Tour |
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Windspiration
"If
the winds of fortune are temporarily blowing against you, remember that
you can harness them and make them carry you toward your definite
purpose, through the use of your imagination."
-Napolean Hill
Napoleon
Hill (October 26, 1883 - November 8, 1970) was an American author who
was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of
personal-success literature. His most famous work, Think and Grow Rich,
is one of the best-selling books of all time. Hill's works examined the
power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success.
He successfully became the presidential advisor to Franklin D.
Roosevelt from 1933-36. "What the mind of man can conceive and believe,
it can achieve," is one of Hill's hallmark expressions.[Wikipedia, some rights reserved]
This
wonderful image is a gift to Windustry from Avery, a very young man
with a terrific imagination who is growing up on a Minnesota Elk Farm
with a wind turbine generating energy for the farm and his home. Avery
visited Windustry at the 2009 Wind Energy Center in The Eco Experience
at the Minnesota State Fair and tested turbine blade designs in the
Kids Activity Corral. From his artistic gift, we can tell that Avery is
indeed harnessing his creativity toward visioning a sustainable planet
for all creatures.
Visit Windustry for more Windspiration
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On the Windustry Trail
Windustry staff and interns had twelve exciting days of fun and interaction with fairgoers at the 2009 Wind Energy Center
in Minnesota, and we continued to work across the country promoting
Community Wind to landowners, legislators, leaders, and other
stakeholders working on renewable energy issues.
Lisa Daniels, Executive Director of Windustry, spoke at the Clean Energy Summit in Denver Colorado sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Farmer's Union.
At the National Women's Leadership Summit
in New Orleans, Louisiana, Lisa Daniels joined over 400 women who hold
positions of influence, led by Honorary Co-chairs U.S. Senator Mary
Landrieu and U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe. Lisa was a lead panelist for a
session on "What are the Key Energy and Environment Issues of the Day?"
We discussed "Leading the Way with Wind" on a panel at the American Renewable Energy Day conference in Aspen Colorado.
We presented on "Risks and Rewards: From Leasing Your Land to Owning a Project"
at a Wind Energy Forum for landowners in Rice, Minnesota, sponsored by
Benton County and the Southwest Initiative Foundation as part of their
Rural Energy Development Initiative.
We met with members of the R9 Renewable Energy Task Force in Mankato, Minnesota to discuss opportunities for Community Wind. |
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Windustry Blog