Image source: AWEA
Editor's note: Since David was only able to spend one day at WINDPOWER 2007, we asked Jessica Jensen, co-founder of Low Impact Living, to offer her take on the rest of the conference. Here are her impressions of Day 2.
Day 2 at WINDPOWER 2007, the national wind energy expo hosted by the National Wind Energy Association (NWEA) continued to be exciting. With over 400 companies exhibiting and 6000+ visitors, this is by far the largest wind energy conference in the U.S. Yesterday's events focused on the small wind energy market. Small wind is defined as systems producing < 100 KWs. Home wind-power systems typically require 1-10 KW (generated by one turbine) and farms and small businesses can use anywhere between 10-100 KW.
The day started with an excellent session on "Growing the Market for Distributed Wind Energy." Trudy Forsyth of the National Renewable Energy Lab spoke both of very encouraging growth in the small wind market but also about the obstacles to greater growth. Certain states– including California, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts offer strong financial incentives for investment in wind systems and also make the permitting processes navigable.