February 19, 2010 Newsletter

Growth at a Crossroads

Britt Theismann is Senior Vice President and Chief Operation Officer of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), headquartered in Washington, DC. AWEA is a leader in the effort to grow the wind industry in America, and GLWN recently asked Britt for his perspectives on what to expect in 2010.

GLWN: AWEA announced in January that installations in the U.S. grew almost 20% to 10,000 megawatts, a figure that surprised many of us who had expected a flat year. What happened?

Theismann: While on the surface the number is impressive, almost 40% of the installations were carryovers from 2008 that weren't completed until 2009. Without the ARRA (Stimulus Act of 2009) we estimate that installations would have decreased by 50%. The ARRA can be credited for bailing out the industry when equity financing disappeared with the devastation of the banking industry. AWEA and the industry are extremely grateful to the President and Congress for the PTC/ITC grant program.

GLWN: How is AWEA working with the Obama Administration?

Theismann: President Obama has reiterated his commitment to double renewable energy in three years. Key Administration officials have checked in with AWEA to monitor progress to achieve the goal. We have informed them that we need more help, that we are trying to build a new American Manufacturing Industry, and that we require policy support in the form of a national renewable energy standard (RES) which will lead wind energy to 20% of our nation's electricity generation.

GLWN: Why is a national renewable energy standard so important?

Theismann: What manufacturers and investors need most is a long-term commitment. Unlike the on-again off-again production tax credit programs that we've had since the 1990s, a national RES will finally provide the market certainty needed for companies to make the necessary capital investments to grow this industry.

GLWN: What is AWEA doing to make that happen?

Theismann: With a very bitterly divided Congress, our biggest challenge is building bipartisan support for a strong RES, which would build the demand for clean renewable energy and create a vibrant market for wind turbines and all 8,000 components.

NREL/GLWN Join Efforts
to Address Midsize Turbine Gap

One of the most significant barriers to deploying midsize turbines in the United States today is the lack of options. Surprisingly, there are few midsize turbines for sale on the market. To fill this technology gap, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will launch a Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project in FY 2010 to facilitate the development and commercialization of midsize wind turbines. This project will assist U.S. manufacturers and wind turbine designers in producing near-term commercial value-engineered midsize turbine prototypes.

To facilitate collaboration between wind turbine designers and U.S. manufacturers and to build awareness of the DOE-NREL Midsize Wind Turbine Development Project, NREL has announced plans to sponsor two workshops. These workshops will be facilitated by the Great Lakes Wind Network.

The format for midsize wind turbine workshops will include panel presentations by turbine designers and manufacturers, information about the NREL's National Wind Technology Center, a discussion about existing and future manufacturing opportunities, and an opportunity to network.

The first workshop will be held on March 24, 2010 at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. The second will be held on April 8, 2010 at Northeastern State University in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

For more information, contact Trudy Forsyth (NREL) at 303.384.6932 or Ed Weston (GLWN) at 216.588.1440 ext. 125.

Nation's First Great Lakes WIND Network™
Center of Excellence Announced

GLWN has named the Advanced Manufacturing Institute at Kansas State University as its first-in-the-nation Center of Excellence to expand GLWN's supply chain development efforts across the Great Plains region.

"Across the nation, demand for GLWN services has been increasing at an amazing rate," said Ed Weston, GLWN Director. "Our leadership team decided the most effective and industry responsive growth model for our organization is to develop strong partnerships with proven regional technical resources that cannot only co-deliver our services, but also provide much deeper insights into a region's manufacturing capabilities. AMI was identified as the technical resource that had taken the lead on developing the supply chain effort across Kansas and would serve as the exemplary extension of GLWN." GLWN expects to establish a limited number of designated Centers of Excellence that serve key regions of the country where the wind industry is actively making new manufacturing investments and/or existing manufacturers are actively pursuing industry participation.

AMI is a department within the College of Engineering at Kansas State University which provides engineering and business services to manufacturers and entrepreneurs. AMI's engineering staff will work directly with GLWN staff to provide site assessments for manufacturers wishing to enter the wind industry supply chain, make recommendations on possible components to be supplied, and assess the organizations overall production system. Additionally, the partnership will enable companies who have met suitable criteria to participate in the GLWN Wind Alert System which informs potential suppliers when an OEM or upper tier supplier is sourcing a specific component that they are capable of producing.

In addition to conducting onsite evaluations the partnership will facilitate workshops across the state for manufacturers who are interested in entering the wind industry to become better informed regarding the opportunities and hurdles posed by the wind industry.

Manufacturing-assistance organizations interested in exploring a role with GLWN should contact Dale Reckman at 513.497.5214.

Rev1 Wind Targets O&M Services Industry
with Growth Initiatives

While the U.S. Wind industry ramps up again, Rev1 Wind is positioning itself to become a major player in the post-warranty Operations & Maintenance (O&M) services arena. Rev1 Wind, a division of Rev1 Power Services, Inc. a Brandon, FL based engineering and technical staffing firm, has made significant investments in developing its Wind division, since early 2008, including a separate division dedicated solely to supporting wind project owners. "We currently assist clients with scheduled maintenance and ongoing O&M needs, providing such services as end-of-warranty turbine inspections, scheduled maintenance, and post-warranty operations and maintenance services," says Rev1's Director of Business Development, Merritt Brown. These inspection services provide wind project owners with a thorough condition assessment of their turbines prior to warranty turnover.

With a higher number of wind turbines coming off warranty than will be covered, 2010 begins a decade of increased focus on third-party O&M services. Like many others in this developing industry, Rev1 sees the challenge and is investing in the future.