Wind Powering America Past Workshops

This page documents many of the Wind Powering America workshops that have been held across the United States. Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Webinar Podcasts

Wind Powering America hosts a series of Webinars on current wind energy issues. The Webinars are available as a series and via Podcast. Audio files, presentations, and text versions of each Webinar are available.

Filter Past Events

Use the drop down lists below to filter the list of past events.

NREL JEDI Model Training Workshop

Date: 3/4/2010

Location: DC

2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST
Join Suzanne Tegen, Senior Energy Analyst at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and learn to use the Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) model. JEDI is a model that analyzes the economic impacts of constructing and operating wind projects. The JEDI model runs in Excel, and users can use either default settings or their own settings in the analysis. The model has application for anyone who wants to better understand how a wind project will affect a community through job creation and local revenue.

The JEDI Model is often used by developers, advocates, government officials, decision makers, and other users who might not have the resources to develop their own economic development models. It is designed to accommodate a broad user base with various levels of experience in economic development modeling.

The Webcast is free of charge and open to your colleagues and associates.

Updated State Wind Resource Estimates Webinar

Date: 2/26/2010

Location: CO

Audio and text versions of the Webinar are available (WMV 14.7 MB) Download Windows Media Player. Time: 01:19:32. Text Version (PDF 173 KB) Download Adobe Reader.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory hosted a one-hour Webinar to discuss the new wind potential estimates and maps that were recently posted to the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Powering America Web site. Dennis Elliott, Marc Schwartz, and Donna Heimiller of NREL and Michael Brower of AWS Truewind discussed the methodology, products, and results of this project. Subjects covered in the presentation included the wind resource data used in the assessment, validation of the data, the approach and methods used to estimate the wind potential, and analysis of the uncertainties in the estimates. A question and answer session followed at the end of the presentations.

Economic Development Case Studies Webinar

Date: 2/17/2010

Location: CO

Contact: Garrett Shields, BCS Inc.

Phone: (303) 425-6800 ext. 469

Audio and text versions of the Webinar are available (WMV 15.3 MB) Download Windows Media Player. Time: 01:25:33. Text Version (PDF 182 KB) Download Adobe Reader.

This Webinar explored how communities and utilities benefit from the development of wind projects. In addition to lease payments to landowners and increased tax revenues to local governments and school districts, wind power projects create jobs, helping to stem the decline in population/customer base in many rural areas, increase demand for local services and supplies, and diversify utility resource portfolios, reducing risk and price volatility. Presenters addressed these benefits through case studies as well as presented models that can be used to estimate local economic benefits.

Wind Turbine Syndrome: Myths and Facts Webinar

Date: 2/11/2010

Location: CO

Contact: Susan Hinnen, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

A discussion of the myths and facts behind wind turbine syndrome and how scientific research is used to both support and deny the claims made.

Topics

• The science of sound;
• Overview of wind turbine syndrome;
• Published research on sound impacts and how it is used to both support and deny claims of wind turbine syndrome;
• How the "nocebo" effect plays a role (A nocebo response occurs when the suggestion of a negative effect of an action leads to an actual negative outcome)

Who should attend?

• Landowners
• Local and state government officials
• Wind developers
• Renewable energy advocates

Speakers

• W. David Colby, M.D.: Chatham-Kent Medical Officer of Health (Acting); Associate Professor, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario
• Geoff Leventhall, Ph.D.: Consultant in Noise Vibration and Acoustics, UK

Michigan Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 1/28/2010

Location: Lansing, MI

Contact: John Sarver, Bureau of Energy Systems, Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth

Phone: (517) 241-6280

Michigan Public Service Commission, 6545 Mercantile Way, Hearing Room A.

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• School Technical Assistance Programs
• Tall Towers Wind Monitoring — Steve Harsh, MSU
• Michigan Public Service Commission Update
• Off-Shore Wind Energy Update
• State Wind Conference
• Open Discussion

Peak Oil Webinar with Randy Udall

Date: 1/27/2010

Location: CO

Contact: Susan Hinnen, NREL

Phone: 303-384-6962

Randy Udall, co-founder of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA, shared the latest findings about peak oil, when it will arrive, and what the impacts might be on the American economy and the renewable energy industry.

Audio and text versions of the Webinar are available (WMV 11.2 MB) Download Windows Media Player. Time: 01:03:28. Text Version (PDF 153 KB), Randy Udall's presentation (PDF 6.9 MB) Download Adobe Reader.

IREC Webinar: Connecting to the Grid Guide

Date: 1/26/2010

Location: NY

Source: Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

Net metering and interconnection policies are essential pieces of a supportive modern state-level regulatory policy framework addressing two important aspects of renewable energy development: whether a customer investing in renewable generation can unlock the full value of his or her investment; and how that customer will interconnect his or her generation system to the distribution grid. This seminar is designed to provide participants with a better understanding of the key issues in these policies and the process behind rulemaking proceedings at state utilities commissions. Participants will gain an understanding of the prevailing trends in net metering and interconnection policy and how the Interstate Renewable Energy Council approaches its work in advocating best practices. States which are considering the revision of 1st or 2nd generation rules will benefit from the presentation of recent engineering-based analysis of the previously made "cross-subsidy" claims, along with evidence on the expansion of unreasonably low aggregate limitations.

This Webinar will also hit the highlights of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council's recently released "Connecting to the Grid Guide, 6th edition." The "Connecting to the Grid Guide" is an important tool that is designed for state regulators and other policymakers, utilities, industry representatives and consumers interested in the development of state-level interconnection standards.

Wind Energy Symposium for Municipalities

Date: 1/15/2010

Location: Pomona, NJ

Contact: Patrick Hossay

Phone: 609-652-4303

In cooperation with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is pleased to offer a regional symposium on wind energy for county and municipal staff and officials in southern New Jersey. The symposium will offer municipal and county officials and professionals the opportunity to explore existing and developing opportunities in wind energy. We encourage mayors to attend this symposium and to invite their zoning and code officials. Industry and businesses leaders are also welcome to attend.

AWEA Webcast: The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis

Date: 12/16/2009

Location: DC

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST

With wind energy expanding rapidly, and with an increasing number of communities considering wind development, there is an urgent need to empirically investigate common community concerns and thereby provide stakeholders in the siting process a common base of knowledge from which to work. The concern that property values will be adversely affected by wind energy facilities is often put forth by stakeholders.

The team of researchers for the project collected data between 1996 and 2007 on almost 7,500 sales of single-family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine different U.S. states; the closest home was 800 feet from a wind facility.

The conclusions of the study are drawn from eight different hedonic pricing models, as well as both repeat sales and sales volume models. A hedonic model is a statistical analysis method used to estimate the impact of house characteristics on sales prices.

None of the models uncovered conclusive evidence of the existence of any widespread property value effects that might be present in communities surrounding wind energy facilities.

Specifically, neither the view of the wind facilities nor the distance of homes to those facilities were found to have any consistent, measurable, or significant effect on the sale prices of the homes studied.

Though the analysis cannot dismiss the possibility that individual homes or small numbers of homes have been negatively impacted, it finds that if these impacts do exist, they are either too small and/or too infrequent to result in any widespread, statistically observable impact.

Please see the Web site to register for this Webinar.

Indiana Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 12/9/2009

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Contact: Travis Murphy, Office of Energy and Defense Development

Phone: (317) 232-7578

Indiana Government Center South Building, Conference Room B.

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Directions

South Dakota Wind Energy Association Annual Meeting

Date: 12/1/2009

Location: SD

Presentations from the meeting are available.

Utah Wind Working Group Meeting: Model Wind Ordinance Review

Date: 11/17/2009

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Contact: Elise Brown

Phone: (801) 537-3365

Department of Natural Resources, 1594 W. North Temple, Room 1010.

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
In this meeting we will review the comments submitted for the Model Wind Ordinance that was discussed in our last meeting. We received great feedback, and many comments were implemented into the ordinance.

The Utah State Energy Program plans on presenting our findings for the ordinance to the Utah State Legislature Natural Resources Committee the following day during Interim Session.

Economic Techniques for Homeowners to Assess Renewable Energy Systems

Date: 11/11/2009

Location: Golden, CO

Contact: NREL Visitors Center

Phone: 303-384-6565

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Visitors Center Exhibit Hall.

12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
As part of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Lecture Series, Dan Chiras, a green building consultant and an internationally acclaimed author of 25 books on residential green building, residential renewable energy and sustainability, will examine four highly economic techniques that homeowners can use to analyze the economics of a wind or solar system using real life examples. Chiras will explore financial incentives such as the Federal Tax Credit, utility rebates and USDA REAP grants that help lower the initial cost of systems.

Call 303-384-6565 to make a reservation for this free public program.

Nebraska Wind Power 2009 Conference

Date: 11/9/2009 to 11/10/2009

Location: Kearney, NE

The conference will feature nationally known wind experts and sessions on small wind, land issues, financing, and energy efficiency.

U.S. Mid-Size Wind Turbine Development Workshop

Date: 11/6/2009

Location: Detroit, MI

Contact: Trudy Forsyth, NREL

Cobo Center, Room W1-54.

7:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Sponsored by NREL and DOE, the Mid-Size Turbine Development Workshop will facilitate collaboration between wind turbine designers and U.S. manufacturers and build awareness of the DOE-NREL Mid-Size Wind Turbine Development Project. This half-day workshop will consist of facilitated panel presentations by turbine designers and manufacturers. In addition to networking opportunities, attendees will have the opportunity to learn about the anatomy of a mid-sized turbine and future opportunities for partnering with DOE. Register for this workshop (PDF 92 KB) Download Adobe Reader.

Webinar: How State and Local Governments are Beginning to Use Feed-In Tariffs as a Policy to Advance Emerging Renewable Energy Technologies

Date: 10/28/2009

Location: CO

3:00 - 4:15 p.m. EDT.

The renewable portfolio standard (RPS) is the most common state-level policy in the United States today. A renewable portfolio standard is a requirement on electric utilities and other electric suppliers to supply a minimum percentage or amount of their load with eligible sources of renewable energy. Read more information about renewable portfolio standards. While renewable portfolio standards mandate how much customer demand must be met with renewables, properly structured feed-in tariff policies attempt to support new supply development by providing investor certainty. Feed-in tariff policies are typically designed to provide a renewable project with revenue streams sufficient to cover development costs, plus a reasonable return. They are focused on setting the right price to drive renewable energy deployment. In contrast, most renewable portfolio standard policies are focused on the quantity, leaving the price up to competitive bidding.

In this Webinar, Karlynn Cory, energy analyst at the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will present several examples of feed-in tariff policies from across the United States.

The Webinar is free of charge, but you must register in advance to obtain a URL for the presentation and call-in phone number. You can register online, find information about the presenters, and read background materials and reports.

Connecticut Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 10/28/2009

Location: Orange, CT

Contact: Glenn Weston-Murphy

Phone: 203-436-1925

Yale West Campus, Building W-B25.

1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Meeting Topics

Updates on Connecticut wind projects and feasibility studies.

• CT Clean Energy Fund Small Wind demonstration project
  • Keith Frame (CCEF) and Shawn Shaw (Cadmus Group)
  • One year update of Yale Sodar Data by Prof Ron Smith
  • CT Wind Developers project Updates
• Developments in Wind energy technologies
  • Optiwind will discuss the development of their new midsize wind turbines
  • Discussion and demonstration of SecondWind SODAR
  • Local CT Wind Turbine Zoning Updates
• WindCT Organizational Business
  • Strategic Plan
  • Steering Committee

Wind Turbine Maintenance Programs Webinar

Date: 10/21/2009

Location: CO

Contact: Garrett Shields, BCS, Incorporated

Phone: (303) 425-6800 x469

Audio and text versions of the Webinar are available (WMV 14.0 MB) Download Windows Media Player. Time: 01:39:28. Text Version (PDF 204 KB) Download Adobe Reader.

The Webinar explored how utility owned wind projects have established effective wind turbine maintenance programs. The presenters addressed staffing requirements, maintenance training, planning costs and new wind maintenance applications and techniques. Both in-house programs and contractor led operations were reviewed.

West Virginia Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 10/20/2009

Location: Davis, WV

Contact: Patrick Mann, Coordinator

Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center.

8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Agenda items will include updates on the various wind energy projects in the state as well as a discussion of the Alternative and Renewable Energy bill recently passed by the State Legislature.

Michigan Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 10/9/2009

Location: Lansing, MI

Michigan Public Service Commission, Hearing Room A, 6545 Mercantile Way.

9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Agenda

• Introductions
• Great Lakes Wind Council Report — Mike Klepinger, Mikinetics
• Wind Energy Resource Zone Board Report — Julie Baldwin, MPSC
• Break
• Windspire Small Wind Turbine — Allan O'Shea, Mariah Power
• Swift Small Wind Turbine — Jessica Lehti, Cascade Renewables

You can call in at 877-336-1829, pass code 2022874#

Presentations will be posted.

Massachusetts Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 10/8/2009

Location: Plymouth, MA

Contact: Lynn Di Tullio

Phone: (413) 588-8028

Aeronautica Windpower, 11 Resnik Rd.

3:00- 5:00 p.m.
Jonathan Klavens of the Klavens Law Group will review the latest on the Net Metering regulations and tariff details, John Harper of Birch Tree Capital will illustrate how the new scheme could affect financial models in several project scenarios, and Brian Kuhn of Aeronautical Windpower will discuss net metering opportunities for projects using mid-scale wind turbines. Please RSVP (or just come, and sign in at the registration table!)

Kansas Wind and Renewable Energy Conference

Date: 10/6/2009 to 10/7/2009

Location: Topeka, KS

Contact: Karen McDaneld

Phone: (785) 271-3170

Topeka Ramada Inn.

Jointly hosted by the State Energy Office and the Kansas Department of Commerce, the conference is an opportunity for state and regional officials and stakeholders to discuss the future of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Kansas. This year's conference will feature breakout sessions on the following topics:

• Renewable Energy

  Including an expanded discussion of wind generation as well as solar, biofuels, and other alternative energy resources.

• Transmission Issues

  An update on transmission infrastructure including expansion and integration of wind and regulation at the state, regional, and federal levels.

• Energy Efficiency

  Addressing a variety of energy conservation and efficiency issues for residential consumers, commercial businesses, and local units of government.

• Economic Development

  Including wind manufacturing and business development, as well as green job workforce development, and federal recovery programs.

Maine Wind Working Group Meeting

Date: 10/6/2009

Location: Augusta, ME

Contact: Shirley Bartlett, a Program Manager, Maine State Energy Program

Phone: 207-287-3318

Civic Center.

Maine Wind Energy Conference

Date: 10/6/2009

Location: Augusta, ME

Augusta Civic Center.

We hope you can join us at Maine's first Wind Energy Conference This is an opportunity to understand how wind power can benefit Maine. The conference is intended to help spur new thinking and innovation in addressing our current wind-related challenges. Please see the Web site for an agenda.

Wind Energy Symposium

Date: 9/25/2009

Location: New Brunswick, NJ

Contact: Alma Rivera

The Wind Energy Symposium will discuss the benefits of wind energy technology and available financial incentives including attractive rebates and low interest loans. The meeting will include guest speakers from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and State legislators. Following the opening remarks, a presentation on the State's Clean Energy Program and other federal and state incentives for wind projects will be provided. An opportunity to learn about wind myths and facts associated with wind turbine installations will be presented. Open to State municipal officials and zoning and permitting personnel.

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