Event - Wind Energy Summit

The 2nd annual Wind Energy Summit will take place on April 16th and 17th in Cape Town South Africa, one of the world’s most exciting new hubs for wind energy in the world. This is the number one commercially based wind energy summit in South Africa. Come and listen to 2015’s most qualified wind energy experts speak about how to implement the financial and legislative changes which will continue to drive industry success into the future.

UK's Renewable Energy (Wind) Records in 2014

In 2014, the UK continues to set records as it increases the power it generates from renewable sources of energy. In 2014, the electricity needs of more than a quarter of UK homes were powered by wind energy.

According to newly released data from National Grid, a record amount of clean electricity was generated by wind power in 2014. Wind power generated enough electricity to supply the needs of more than 6.7 million UK households last year. This represents a 15 percent increase over the amount generated in 2013 (up from 24.5 terawatt hours to 28.1TWh in 2014). Averaged over the course of the entire year, this amounts to just over 25 percent of all UK homes.

The combination of large scale wind farms and smaller sites connected to local networks, provided 9.3 percent of the UK’s total electricity supply in 2014, up from 7.8 percent the year before.

Event - Mexico WindPower 2015 Exhibition and Congress

Mexico WindPower 2015 will take place on February 25 - 26, 2015 at the Centro Banamex in Mexico City. This event will bring together key players of the wind power industry including representatives from three levels of government, companies, industry experts, academics and professionals. All will meet face to face to see how the supply chain can help achieve Mexico’s 35 percent renewable energy targets by 2024. The Mexican government’s new renewable energy targets mean that doors will be opening for the wind industry and its stakeholders, creating business opportunities.

Infographic - Wind Energy in America

Event - Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture 2014

This event will take place on December 1 - 3, 2014, at the Maritim Hotel, Düsseldorf, Germany. This International conference on MW wind blades will look at design factors, composites manufacturing and performance. The 5th AMI international conference on Wind Turbine Blade Manufacture is organized by Applied Market Information Ltd. (AMI). It will start with an evening Welcome Cocktail Reception and exhibition on 1st December followed by a 2-day technical programme (see the bottom of the page).

Event - Wind Turbine Optimization, Maintenance and Repair Summit

The first annual Wind Turbine Optimization, Maintenance and Repair Summit, will take place on 8th-9th December, 2014 at the Westin Prince in Toronto Canada.

For 5 consecutive years, the Wind Energy Operations and Maintenance Series has been the central meeting point for the North American and European wind industries, making it the only place for you to meet, network and do business with the key O&M individuals. It is now recognized as the Americas most reputable and rewarding commercial business forum. 

Event - CanWEA 2014

This event will take place on October 27-29, 2014, at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal in Montréal, Québec. This is THE Wind Energy Industry Event in Canada. The 30th annual CanWEA conference will continue to tackle important issues facing the industry while serving as the main platform for networking and discovering the latest technologies, solutions and opportunities in the Canadian wind energy market. Canada’s largest wind energy focused event is expected to draw over 1,500 delegates and 150 exhibitors.

Event - AWEA Offshore Windpower Conference and Exhibiton

This event will take place on October 7 - 8, 2014 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, NJ. AWEA Offshore WINDPOWER 2014 Conference & Exhibition is the largest offshore wind energy event in North America. With projects in advanced stages of development, lease auctions in several states, and additional government funding for advanced technology demonstration projects, the U.S. offshore wind energy industry is picking up speed and momentum.

Event - Wind All States Summit in Albany

This DWEA event will take place on Wednesday October 15, 2014 from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Marriot Albany, 189 Wolf Rd, Albany, NY 12205.

Distributed wind energy systems offer reliable electricity generation in a wide variety of global settings, including households, schools, farms and ranches, businesses, towns, communities and remote locations, as depicted below. Projects range for example from a 1-kilowatt (kW) or smaller off-grid wind turbine at a remote cabin or cell phone tower – to a 10-kW wind turbine at a home, small business, or small agricultural load – to several multi-megawatt (MW) wind turbines at a university campus, manufacturing facility or any large energy user.

Video - WindPax: Portable Wind Energy

WindPax has developed a collapsible, portable, light-weight, wind turbine that goes where you go. This durable and affordable personal energy solution is capable of providing power in a multitude of situations and destinations.

Video - Archimedes: New Home Windmill Design

The Liam F1 is an urban wind turbine created by Archimedes. Their new windmill design can power small homes and apartments. The Archimedes windmill design is quiet and boasts an 80 percent efficiency ratio.

Course - Wind Power Finance School

Wind Power Finance School from Green Power Academy will take place on June 30 to July 4, 2014 in Johannesburg, South Africa.  This intensive and demanding week long course provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of wind farm financing, including modelling, structuring, risk mitigation and value analysis.

Course - Wind Power Planning, Development & Operations

The Wind Power Planning, Development & Operations (2-module school) from Green Power Academy will take place from June 23 to 27, 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa.

These 2 courses combine to provide a comprehensive understanding of the technological, project delivery and operational aspects of wind power projects, from resource assessment through to optimization.

Event - Grid Support and Ancillary Services (Wind Power)

This Wind Power event will take place on June 4, 2014 in Hamburg, Germany. This forum will provide a timely briefing on the economic and technical feasibility of offering frequency response, voltage control and other solutions that support the integration of wind power into the grid.

Event - Windpower 2014

Windpower 2014 will take place on May 5 - 8 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. WINDPOWER offers unique networking and special events to foster casual interactions with industry peers, customers and colleagues. Here are a few of the event highlights:

Large Turbine Manufacturer Forum: This is a WINDPOWER favorite, and a must for many people. You might say it’s the biggest session that’s not a General Session. Why? It features executives from the companies—original equipment manufacturers (OEM)—that reside at the heart of the industry supply chain and industry itself. What is each respective OEM’s strategy going forward? What is each executive’s prediction for the total megawatt installations for this year? Find out at the Large Turbine Manufacturer Forum.

Recorded Access to the Wind Energy Summit South Africa

Interested parties can now access the proceedings at the Wind Energy Summit South Africa, that was held in Cape Town in April. This includes over 18hrs of recorded discussion and printed materials from some of the most senior members of the wind industry. Listen to presentations from Mainstream Renewable Power, The National Treasury, Eskom and Rand Merchant Bank and others as they share their insights into the South African wind industry.

Video - Republican Senator Explains Why the PTC is Important

In this video Republican Senator Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley explains the importance of renewing the wind energy production tax credit (PTC) which expired at the end of 2013. Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Dave Camp, allowed the PTC to lapse in favor of working on a broader tax code overhaul. The extension of the PTC has a good chance of passing, although it will likely be opposed by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. The PTC extension will be championed by the Democratic Senator from Oregon, Ron Wyden, the incoming chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

Will the PTC be Resurrected from the Grave yet Again?

The Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit (PTC)has died and been resurrected a total of five times and it looks as though it may yet again be brought back to life. On April 3, 2014, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill that would resurrect the expired tax provisions including the PTC which expired at the end of 2013.

Infographic - Wind Energy Top 10 Nations: Installed Capacity for 2013 and Cumulative Capacity

PTC is Dead: Obituary for the Production Tax Credit

It looks as though the tax credit for the wind industry is officially dead. After two decades, the federal government's wind energy stimulus incentive known as the Production Tax Credit (PTC) has succumbed to GOP pressure. It was born under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 and it died on January 1, 2014 due in large part to Republican pressure to reign in government spending. It is no coincidence that the PTC was killed in an election year. In the 2014 midterms, Republicans are expected to focus on curtailing government spending as a primary campaign issue.

For two consecutive years the credit has teetered on the brink. In 2012 it looked as though the credit would not be extended, but in a last minute deal it was resurrected. Both at the end of 2012 and 2013 wind producers across the country scrambled to qualify for the PTC before its expiration. However, unlike the reprieve of 2013, the credit is unlikely to be resuscitated in 2014.