Guest Post by  John Hensley, American Wind Energy Association. Original post here.  Fresh off the first-ever American Wind Week, the Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released a new report finding wind energy cost reductions of 50 percent are possible by 2030. That’s on top of the 66 percent cost reduction since 2009. Envisioning the wind plant of the near-future – a ‘collection of intelligent and innovative machines operating in a highly coordinated way’ – NREL expects advancements in wind turbine design, materials, and controls to unlock major performan ..read more

A new market report by the American Wind Energy Association ​ (AWEA) shows that 2016 was a record breaker for the wind industry. And signs are pointing to an equally aggressive 2017. With a total of 8,203 megawatts (MW) of wind energy capacity commissioned last year, the majority of projects were completed in the final three months. The United States now harnesses more than 82,000 MW of wind power. That's enough power for the equivalent of roughly 25 million homes! First Wind Farm in North Carolina Takes Flight AWEA reports that 10,432 MW of wind power projects are currently under ..read more

Courtesy of GreenTech Media. Blog reposted from the American Wind Energy Association. Original post available here. I think we’re officially past the trend stage. After nine months of new data all pointing to the same conclusion, it’s nowsimply a fact: no matter where they live or who they voted for, most Americanswant more of their electricity to come from wind power. ​ The latest evidence The latest proof of wind energy’s bipartisan support came earlier this week, when Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies released new survey results. Among their key findings:75 percent of Pr ..read more

Marion Hill Senior Manager, Engineering, DNV GL, presented a risk quantification to alleviate stakeholder concerns regarding wind turbines. This blog entry is one in a series from the Southern Wind Energy Association, attending and live blogging at the American Wind Energy Association’s 2016 WINDPOWER Conference and Expo in New Orleans.  ​ Wind energy is wildly popular. Opinion polls show that public support for wind energy is astronomical: frequently between 70-90% of those polled support increasing the use of wind energy. Some people even go out of their way to visit wind turbines ..read more

This blog entry is one in a series from the Southern Wind Energy Association, attending and live blogging at the American Wind Energy Association’s 2016 WINDPOWER Conference and Expo in New Orleans.  ​ ​ We're off to a great start this year at AWEA's conference in New Orleans! This year's conference is centered around the theme "Generation Wind." With the renewal of the Production Tax Credit and policy stability in the industry, attendees are gearing up for the next phase of wind power to begin. But what does "Generation Wind" mean to our Southern region? Over the past five years, wind turbin ..read more

This blog is part of the Southern Wind Energy Association’s Windy Wednesday series leading up to the wind energy industry’s largest annual event, WINDPOWER 2016, being hosted in New Orleans May 23-26. Registration and details available here. You can read the other blogs in this series by clicking on #WindyWednesday. This year may be the biggest year for wind energy in the South. A number of factors are working together to create a massive market for wind energy all across the country. Some of the important factors include: technology has significantly improved, utilities are becoming more ..read more

This blog entry is a guest post from American Wind Energy Association's Stefanie Brown. This blog series is part of the Southern Wind Energy Association’s Windy Wednesday series leading up to the wind energy industry’s largest annual event, WINDPOWER 2016, being hosted in New Orleans May 23-26. Registration and details available here. You can read the other blogs in this series by clicking on #WindyWednesday. We recently went down to New Orleans to finalize all the plans for AWEA WINDPOWER 2016 Conference & Exhibition, opening just two weeks from today. It’s the first time our annua ..read more

This blog is part of the Southern Wind Energy Association’s Windy Wednesday series leading up to the wind energy industry’s largest annual event, WINDPOWER 2016, being hosted in New Orleans May 23-26. Registration and details available here. You can read the other blogs in this series by clicking on #WindyWednesday. According to the Chinese animal zodiac cycle, 2016 is the year of the Red Monkey. According to legend, the "Monkey contains Metal (relation to gold) and Water (wisdom, danger)...Metal is related to Wind (change). Therefore events in 2016 will change very quickly." The Year of t ..read more

Wind Toolkit Prospector This blog is part of the Southern Wind Energy Association’s Windy Wednesday series leading up to the wind energy industry’s largest annual event, WINDPOWER 2016, being hosted in New Orleans May 23-26. Registration and details available here. You can read the other blogs in this series by clicking on #WindyWednesday. Wind turbine technology has advanced significantly in the past five years. With longer blades and taller towers, wind energy can now be generated throughout the South. However, outdated maps regarding wind energy resource potential continue to be used by ..read more

This blog is part of the Southern Wind Energy Association’s Windy Wednesday series leading up to the wind energy industry’s largest annual event, WINDPOWER 2016, being hosted in New Orleans May 23-26. Registration and details available here. You can read the other blogs in this series by clicking on #WindyWednesday. ​ In late 2015, the United States' Congress passed long-term extensions of key federal tax incentives for renewable energy resources. As part of the overall legislative package, Congress also passed a long-term phaseout of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy ..read more