Different wind generators on display at the AWEA Small and Community Wind Power conference Thursday in Detroit.
Posted: Thursday, 05 November 2009 4:03PM
Larger-Than-Expected Crowd For Wind Conference
By Matt Roush
More than 2,100 people spent this week at a pair of national wind energy events being held this week at Cobo Center.
The American Wind Energy Association held both its inaugural Small and Community Wind Power Conference and Exhibition and its second Wind Power Supply Chain Conference together.
Sarah Howell, vice president of public affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based group, said organizers had initially expected 1,700 to attend.
"Having 400 people more on a walk-in basis is certainly a good thing to see," she said. "It shows a lot of interest in the subject."
Howell said conference-goers and exhibitors alike have praised Detroit and Cobo Hall as hosts and venue. "Logistically, it's been easy for people to get around in," she said.
And she called Detroit a "perfect venue because of the availability of the work force here that already has the skills in all the components of the supply chain for the wind industry."
She said a utility scale wind turbine has 8,000 components -- so the opportunity is there for American manufacturers.
During the day, hundreds of attendees heard keynotes and panel discussions on highly technical topics, including public policy, safety, ownership structure, financial structure, turbine technology, and more.
Advances in technology and government subsidies have slashed the price of wind power over the past 20 years from 30 cents a kilowatt-hour to under 5 cents today, making the technology make fiscal sense, presenters said.
The event also featured a show floor with several dozen exhibitors, showing off everything from huge utility-scale wind machines to tiny two-foot spinners capable of producing 200 watts, intended to charge the batteries of building lights, street lights, RVs and yachts.
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