by DWEA Site Admin | Mar 20, 2015
Electrical Systems Subgroup Meeting
March 25-26 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C.
Meeting Registration | Agenda | Hotel | Participants | DW15 Sponsorship
Thank You to Our SMART Wind Electrical Meeting Sponsors:
The SMART Wind Electrical Subgroup will be held after the Distributed Wind 2015 Business Conference and Hill Event. The subgroup will meet for dinner on March 25 and all day March 26. Click to register for Electrical Systems Subgroup or Full Conference pass.
Registration Rates (not including Eventbrite Fee):
| Type |
Early Bird
(by 2/28)
|
Regular
(thru 3/25)
|
Onsite or
after 3/25
|
SMART Wind Electrical Subgroup
DWEA/AWEA Member/Non-Profit/Govt |
Free
|
$25
|
$75
|
SMART Wind Electrical Subgroup
Non Member |
$50
|
$100
|
$125
|
SMART Wind Electrical Subgroup
Off site |
N/A
|
(thru 3/26)
$50
|
N/A
|
by DWEA Site Admin | Feb 5, 2015 | News
Washington DC — Today the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) lauded USDA’s recent announcement of a final rule for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This rule-making process has been years in the making, and DWEA has been an active participant since the beginning. The core program is still providing grants and loan guarantees to rural small businesses, farmers and others in the agricultural community. However, positive adjustments have been made including a new simplified “three tiered” application process, more frequent solicitations, and priority points for specific policy priorities such as the advancement of distributed wind power.
“The REAP program has always been a very good one, strongly supported on a bi-partisan basis to help expand development of rural America’s abundant renewable energy resources,” said Jennifer Jenkins, DWEA’s Executive Director. “Now it’s an even better program helping ensure distributed wind power’s continued role in bringing clean, affordable and homegrown electricity to rural America. I am pleased to see the efforts of the USDA for it’s great work on the program.”
“This program helps farmers and rural businesses lower their operating costs and become more competitive by installing American-made small wind turbines,” said DWEA President, Mike Bergey. “Recent improvements to the program have made it more accessible to family farms and small businesses and we are very appreciative of the streamlining of the application process.”
Mike Bergey of Bergey Windpower and DWEA President will be on a panel Friday February 6th to discuss the importance of the REAP program. USDA’s “National Stakeholder Forum” will run from 1 to 3pm and also include remarks by USDA dignitaries, and be broadcast via webinar for those unable to attend in person. For more information contact Venus Welch-White on 202-720-0400 or venus.welchwhite@wdc.usda.gov.
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About the Distributed Wind Energy Association
The Distributed Wind Energy Association is a collaborative group comprised of manufacturers, distributors, project developers, dealers, installers, and advocates, whose primary mission is to promote and foster all aspects of the American distributed wind energy industry. Distributed wind is the use of wind turbines at homes, farm and ranches, businesses, public and industrial facilities, off-grid and other sites connected either physically or virtually on the customer side of the meter to offset all or a portion of local energy consumption or to support grid operations. DWEA seeks to represent members and associates from all sectors with relevant interests pertaining to the distributed wind industry. For more information on DWEA, please go to www.distributedwind.org. Follow us on Twitter @DWEA and like us on Facebook.
by DWEA Site Admin | Jul 15, 2014 | News
With Acquisition, Renewable Energy and Wireless Services Leader Becomes Ethos Distributed Solutions, Expands Operations to Nearly All 50 States
Ethos Distributed Energy and Rev1 Renewables have now joined forces to become Ethos Distributed Solutions. With the acquisition of Rev1 Renewables, Ethos solidifies itself as a leader in the installation, operations and maintenance of distributed renewable energy systems.
“We are really excited about the marriage of these two businesses,” says Paul Roamer, President of Ethos Distributed Solutions. “By combining resources and talent with Rev1 Renewables, this acquisition allows Ethos to provide competitive professional services nationwide and increase our effectiveness with our current clients. Additionally, our name change better reflects the inclusive spectrum of services we provide in both the renewable energy and telecommunications industry.”
Ethos leads the way in distributed maintenance, system upgrades and engineering consulting within the wind, solar and wireless markets. Adding the portfolio of projects from Rev1 Renewables compliments Ethos’ current work with renewable energy systems. Ethos currently serves 50 KW to 2.5 MW wind systems, solar systems up to 20 MW, and maintenance, repair, upgrades and installs for telecom clients.
Ethos is one of only a few companies operating in the nexus of renewable energy and telecom. The synergy in expertise and operational structure between the three business segments allows Ethos to efficiently schedule its field service crews throughout the United States, providing customers with superior technical knowledge and competitive pricing.
“We are very optimistic about our company’s future,” says Roamer. “The renewable energy market will continue to grow in the United States, and as these systems age, uptime and healthy operation of these assets will be of upmost importance. Likewise in telecom – with competition between carriers heating up, we see service upgrades occurring at a higher frequency than in the past. Protecting these renewable investments and maintaining the competitiveness of our telecom customers is where Ethos shines.”
About Ethos Distributed Solutions
Ethos was founded in 2009 in Colorado to provide cost-effective and reliable renewable energy solutions and support to distributed generation systems and telecom markets. Expertise and engineering backbone is what separates Ethos from other service providers. Our cross-training between renewable O&M and telecom creates a technical competency that is unmatched in the market. For more information, visit: www.ethossolutions.com.
Ethos media contact:
Paul Roamer, President
303-590-9423
proamer@ethossolutions.com
by DWEA Site Admin | Mar 3, 2014 | News
Industry advocates often talk about wind farms contributing revenue to local communities, so it’s nice to hear specific and tangible examples of wind power at work on the ground (that is, as opposed to 80-plus meters in the air, working to generate clean electrons). So here’s one.
In Ohio Iberdrola Renewables, along with State Senator Cliff Hite and State Representative Tony Burkley, this week presented checks to local officials in both Van Wert and Paulding counties to commemorate the first of the annual payments the wind power company’s Blue Creek Wind Farm will be making to the counties.
Speaking of tangible examples, it’s interesting to take a look at both the sheer dollars contributed as well as how those funding levels are calculated (usually by number of turbines).
Photo credit: Iberdrola Renewables
Iberdrola injected Van Wert County, which hosts 115 turbines, with over $2 million, making the wind farm the largest single taxpayer in the county. That figure, in fact, is equal to the current top 11 revenue contributors combined as of 2012. Wind farms often generate revenue for communities that need it most, and so the statistic concerning the top 11 revenue contributors is a case in point. Paulding County, meanwhile, received $666,000, based on the 37 turbines located in the county that each pay $18,000 per year.
As the wind farm is spread across two counties, six townships – Tully, Union, and Hoaglin in Van Wert County and Benton, Blue Creek and Latty in Paulding County – and four school districts, the project’s contributions to localities will be spread far and wide. The townships will each see an average of $1,400 per year per turbine. With 76 wind turbines, Union Township will see a revenue boost of 25-30 percent in 2014 compared to 2013.
“These funds support projects and services that benefit everyone across the region, from schools, public safety and public health programs, to road repairs,” said State Representative Tony Burkley (R-Payne). “It’s great to see this kind of investment in northwest Ohio, and it’s better to see the benefits have such a positive impact on the people who live and work here.”
The school districts will see the lion’s share of revenue. With 81 turbines spinning within its boundaries, Crestview Schools will see about $850,000 per year in new revenue, a boost of about 10 percent.
“This is my 40th year in education and I don’t think I have ever seen a source of revenue like this offer itself to a school district like this,” said Crestview Superintendent Mike Estes. “It’s really a windfall for us.”
Now, just imagine the additional community revenue trickling through from the 500 jobs created during construction, the $25 million spurred in local spending, the 30 local companies that worked on the project, et cetera et cetera. Those are some good, tangible benefits. And we haven’t even begun to talk about what the wind farm is built for, the product it will give the region: clean, fuel-free electrons.
As a footnote, here are some extra-curricular initiatives Iberdrola has sponsored in the community:
Flat Rock Creek Festival
Friends of the Paulding Chamber, Inc.
Iberdrola Renewables Scholarship Fund administered by the Van Wert County Foundation
John Paulding Historical Society
Paulding County Youth Baseball
Van Wert County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau’s Rib Fest
Van Wert County Historical Society
Van Wert Elementary School book fair
Van Wert County Junior Fair
Vantage Career Center
Village of Convoy Fire Department
Iberdrola is not unique among developers in its good-neighbor giving. First Wind, for example, is just one name that comes to mind for reaching out to the community in multiple ways. Does your company have some community-participation information you’d like to share? Share your story in the comments.
This is cross posted from AWEA’s Into the Wind Blog written by Carl Levesque.
