At least in his part of the country, Somerset County, Pennsylvania Commissioner Jim Marker says, most people recognize the importance of alternative forms of energy — like wind — to the future. He says they've seen the benefits of wind energy development first-hand and as a result acceptance has increased. But, if the state is going to reach its full wind potential, Marker says it's going to require more than public acceptance. He says it will take investment and common sense siting ordinances.

Marker says he and his fellow commissioners starting looking at an ordinance because the County had no reporting mechanism for the construction of wind farms. So they put a mechanism in place that met subdivision regulations but also eliminated costly compliance measures to create a level playing field for landowners and wind companies.

"It just didn't seem fair to us that we would target one industry and slap extensive regulations on them and possibly or potentially kill that industry in our county. I mean, my thought as a government official is that the government should be there to help foster business and help facilitate business development, and these are large business developments. And while we wanted to foster those, we also needed to make sure that the scenic beauty of our county and the land rights of neighboring landowners were protected."

Marker says the result was a fair compromise.

"That ordinance has been used for a model throughout the state of Pennsylvania. The Township Supervisors Association used it as a model. Many townships in our county merely defer to the county's ordinance and say 'we're happy with that, if you abide by it, we're fine with it.' So, I think we struck a good compromise because we managed to anger all sides. I think that tells me that we got a pretty fair ordinance in place."

And Marker says it's important to have that kind of model to go by. He says in 2002 — speaking to the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection — he explained that other states with wind energy developments had statewide siting regulations.

"So I think that's something that our state can do to help make sure that the development happens in a common sense, logistical way. I think also our state, Pennsylvania, has committed resources to the wind industry and there again, I believe that that's an investment in our future. And I think that it's something that you should have government dollars assisting in trying to develop a new industry. I think that there's an education process in any community that has to happen. I think the state can assist with that as well."

Marker says we owe it to our children and grandchildren to explore the wind industry and foster wind energy development.

The effort to bring wind energy to Pennsylvania started in the late 1990s. Somerset County, Pennsylvania Commissioner Jim Marker says it started with eight wind turbines — with more cropping up in the last decade. He says Somerset County, according to the wind companies, is a prime spot for developing wind energy.

While the growth of the industry has been met with a variety of opinions, Marker says most realize the importance of wind energy to the future.

"I believe overall, most people have the understanding that if we want to continue to turn our lights on, if we want to continue to heat water so that we can take a hot shower; that we're going to need alternative forms of energy as we move into the future. You know, looking out 15, 20, 30, 50 years, we need to make sure that we explore alternative forms of energy. So I think most people understand that."

Marker says they've certainly witnessed the economic benefits that come with wind energy development.

"There are many economic benefits from bringing money in from a state and federal government level, from a business investment level, from companies all over the world bringing money directly into our local economy, and benefitting landowners and benefitting local businesses and local municipalities and things like that."

Marker says the manufacturing of wind turbines in the state is a great example. Gamesa is a company based in Spain that is positioned among the most important wind generator manufacturers in the world — and they have a location in Pennsylvania.

"A direct business is the number of jobs that are created, good paying, good wages, family sustaining jobs. And there's been millions of dollars invested into our county. They generate some tax revenue to the county, to the municipality, and of course the larger taxes to the school districts."

As a result of the benefits, Marker says interest in and acceptance of wind has increased. But he says it will take more than public acceptance if Pennsylvania is to achieve its full wind potential.

Marguerite Kelly of DOE's Wind Powering America project presented the award to the key development partners of the Dry Lake Wind Power Project at the project's dedication ceremony near Holbrook, Arizona. Iberdrola Renewables, Salt River Project, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Land Department, Rocking Chair Ranch, Navajo County, and Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation will receive awards.

Wind Powering America presents Carpe Ventem Awards to the first commercial-scale wind project in a state. See Wind Powering America awards for a list of past awardees.

Wind Powering America has been active in Arizona for a number of years. The team developed the Arizona wind resource map, funded the Arizona Wind Working Group, funded outreach activities through Northern Arizona University, and participated in the annual Southwest Renewable Energy Conference in Flagstaff.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management attended the event.

More Information

Eastern Arizona Courier. (October 21, 2009). "Arizona's First Commercial Wind Project Dedicated."

The White Mountain Independent's Online Edition. (October 13, 2009). "U.S. Interior Secretary Salazar, energy leaders and county families dedicate Dry Lake Wind."

It took time and an extensive grassroots campaign to get the people of North Dakota and the state's legislators on board with wind energy development but once the first wind farm was built, Jay Haley, a partner with EAPC Architects Engineers, says the interest in wind reached a fever pitch.

"We had communities all over the state forming wind development committees and we had politicians that were clamoring to lead the parade. Wind energy started showing up as a major component in the political campaign platforms at the time."

What's more, Haley says an electric cooperative once somewhat resistant to wind embraced a corporate renewable energy goal — declaring that by 2010 — 10 percent of the energy it produces will come from renewable resources. He says the cooperative is Basin Electric, which was involved in purchasing the output from that first wind farm.

"And I suspect that from the experience that they gained through that project that they were better able to see how wind would fit into their long-term plans. But they also had the sort of internal expertise that was needed to build on their own the next wind farm themselves. I think they also heard loud and clear from their co-op members that they wanted more wind energy. And I think the pressure coming from those members was a direct result of all the educational process and the meetings from the grassroots campaign. I mean, most of those co-op members live in these rural areas that really need the economic development."

According to Haley, there's also been a push to find ways to relieve the transmission constraints that impede large-scale wind development in the state and people are looking for ways to regulate and control wind development. He says both transmission and regulation are issues that must be handled carefully if North Dakota is to achieve its full wind potential.

"Transmission is clearly the biggest issue that we have. In the beginning we had many people that were saying that wind development in North Dakota was not possible because there was no transmission. Since that time we have actually interconnected almost a thousand megawatts of wind throughout the state. So at this point I don't think there's much more room on the grid in North Dakota without that new transmission. Other than that, I think we need to be careful to enact good legislation and siting rules that promote wind development in a balanced way that's good both for the developers and the local communities and landowners."

North Dakota currently ranks 13th in the nation when it comes to installed wind capacity. The state has 714 megawatts installed and 345 megawatts under construction. Texas leads the nation with more than eight-thousand megawatts installed and another thousand under construction. And while North Dakota edges the state of Texas when it comes to wind energy potential both could produce more than one-trillion kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

Dr. Ryan Wiser, principle author, presented via Webinar the Annual Wind Market report. The information in the market report is critical for representing wind information accurately to stakeholders.

The Webinar examined different approaches to municipal utility wind power projects through three case studies. The studies look at utility-owned projects, purchase power projects, financing and contractual arrangements, overcoming management and technical barriers, reasons for choosing particular technologies, and more.

This Webinar presented the unique challenges of developing wind power projects from the electric cooperative's perspective. Four case studies examined a variety of issues related to cooperative-owned projects.

Sponsors include: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association — DEED program, Western Area Power Administration, U.S. DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Utility Wind Integration Group, American Wind Energy Association — AWEA Utility Working Group, National Wind Coordinating Collaborative.

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.