Distributed Wind 2025
Residence Inn Capital View, Arlington, VA
(Preliminary as of 1/4/2025 – PDF version)
Monday, February 24th
7:30a – 8:15a Registration, Breakfast Buffet and Networking Opportunity
8:15a – 8:20a Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mike Bergey, DWEA President
8:20a – 9:05a Keynote Address – Michael Barnard, globally renowned energy futurist, corporate advisor, and wind technology consumer advocate
9:05a – 10:00a Leadership Panel: State of the Industry
Moderator: Charles Newcomb, Hoss Consulting
Participants:
- Richard Legault, Eocycle Technologies, manufacturer of farm and commercial wind turbines
- Mike Bergey, Bergey Windpower, manufacturer of residential and farm wind turbines
- Steve Sherr, Foundation Windpower, leading developer of large-scale behind-the-meter wind projects
- Brett Pingree, Emergya Wind Technologies, manufacturer of mid-scale wind turbines
- Reinout Oussoren, NPS Solutions, manufacturer of mid-scale wind turbines
- Ketter Ulrich, Ryse Energy, manufacturer of micro-turbines and supplier of off-grid hybrid systems (invited)
10:05a – 10:20a Networking Break − visit AgWind demo station!
10:20a – 11:20a U.S. DOE’s 2024 Programmatic Focus on DW Deployment Challenges
Moderator: Patrick Gilman, DW Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy (invited)
This session will feature DOE Wind Energy Technology Office (WETO) sponsored projects focused on addressing deployment challenges and opportunities. DWEA anticipates the following session content – subject to change.
- Using Distributed Wind to Help Raise Small Farm Income – Update on the USDA/US-DOE RAISE Initiative, TBD
- Update on Distributed WindSmart, Part of US-DOE’s Energy Ready Initiative, TBD
- TBD
11:20a – 12:20p Lightning Round – Platinum Sponsors Spotlight
Moderator: Trudy Forsyth, Wind Advisors
6 participants, 8 minutes each
- Bergey Windpower
- Northern Power Systems
- American Windpower
- Power Grid Partners
- TBD
- TBD
12:20p-1:20p Networking Lunch (included in registration)
1:20p – 2:10p Federal Policy and Programs Update
Moderator: Chris Diaz, Seminole Financial
- USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Latest Updates – Kelly Bogle, Assistant Deputy Administrator, Rural Development, USDA
- OCED’s $400M Energy Resource Alternatives for Rural and Remote Areas Funding Opportunity – Toniqua Hay, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, US-DOE (invited)
- Project Finance Opportunities Through EPA’s $27 Billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Awardees – Speaker TBD
2:10p – 2:50p DWEA Policy Update
Moderator: Heather Rhoads, DWEA/eFormative Options
This session will provide an overview of DWEA’s 2025 federal policy priorities by Lloyd Ritter, Green Capitol, DWEA’s Washington representative followed by a Q&A session. We expect to cover the impact of the new Administration and the Republican Congress on legislation and policies that are important to the Distributed Wind industry.
2:50p-3:05p Networking Break − visit AgWind demo station!
3:05p – 4:00p Updates on Tax Provisions in the IRA Legislation
Moderator: Steve Sherr, Foundation Windpower (invited)
Presentations and discussion by tax experts:
- Jennifer Bernardini, U.S. Treasury Department (invited)
- James Duffy, Nixon Peabody
- Jaron Goddard, Wilson, Sonsini
- Monetizing Transferrable Tax Credits, speaker TBD
4:00p – 5:00p Accessing Agricultural Markets for Distributed Wind
Moderator: John Mogensen, Eocycle Technologies
- Data Mining for USDA REAP Distributed Wind Sales Leads, David Dunaway, eFormative Options
- Overview of DWEA’s AgWind Initiative and Projects, Heather Rhoads, eFormative Options
- Lesson’s Learned from Exhibiting Small Wind at Over 30 Farm and Agricultural Shows, Kerry Kisslinger, American Windpower
5:00p First Day Closing Comments – Mike Bergey, DWEA President
5:00p Adjourn
5:15 – 7:30p Monday Happy Hour – Networking Opportunity – cash bar
SOCCi Italian Restaurant, Renaissance Arlington Capital View (adjacent to Residence Inn)
Tuesday, February 25
7:00a – 8:00a Registration, Breakfast Buffet and Networking Opportunity
7:00a – 8:00a Windiversity: Women of DW & DWEA Racial Equity Meetup, Terrace Room
All Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy members and allies welcome
8:00a – 8:05a Welcome and Opening Remarks
Mike Bergey, DWEA President
8:05a – 9:25a Case Studies of Distributed Wind Projects
Moderator: Dan Clunies, Harmony Energy
This session will feature case studies of noteworthy Distributed Wind projects covering different sizes and applications. Project details, including costs, performance, and economics will be presented.
- Foundation Windpower (invited)
- Ryse Energy (invited)
- Eocycle Technologies (invited)
- Bergey Windpower (invited)
- Northern Power Systems (invited)
- Illinois Rural Electric Coop Adds a Second 1 MW Wind Turbine – Bret Pingree, EWT Americas
- Siva Powers America (invited)
9:25a – 10:15a Distributed Wind Market Issues
Moderator: Josh Groleau, Pecos Wind (invited)
- Tribal Clean Energy Finance & Project Structuring – Todd Halvorsen, Pathfinder Partner (invited)
- Distributed Wind Interconnection Issues, TBD
- Distributed Wind Standards Issues, TBD
10:15a -10:30a Networking Break − visit AgWind demo station!
10:30a – 11:15p Distributed Wind Technical Innovations
Moderator: Chris Connor, Northern Power Systems (invited)
- Grid-Tie and AC-Coupling Options for Small Wind Turbines – Quentin Gargan, Voltsys Renewable Energy Solutions (invited)
- New OpenFAST Design Tools for Distributed Wind – Brent Summerville, NREL
- TBD
11:15a – 12:00p REpowering Schools Student Presentations
Moderator: Remy Pangle, REpowering Schools (invited)
As in 2024, on Tuesday, REpowering Schools is hosting a parallel Student Symposium for college students and their faculty advisors that are undertaking wind and/or solar research through their Seed Funding program. This session provides the students an opportunity to present their projects. Posters from each participating school will also be displayed at the Tuesday evening DW24 reception, where distributed wind companies may find candidates for internships or employment.
12:00 – 12:15p Windustry 2024 Community Wind Awards – presented by Lisa Daniels and Jim Duffy
12:15p Conference Closing Remarks – Mike Bergey, DWEA President and Lloyd Ritter, Green Capitol
12:20p Adjourn
12:20-1:30p Networking Lunch and AgWind Strategy Session (included in registration)
1:30p – 3:10p U.S. DOE National Labs – Industry Discussions, Session Part 1
Facilitator: TBD
Developer focused:
Deployment focused tool review and application discussion: WETO has invested in modeling tools as part of its effort to address project development roadblocks. Several of these models are now ready for more widespread use by developers, but their use is limited. This panel will allow DWEA conference participants to obtain a better understanding of the existing tools, followed by discussions of how laboratory staff can work with DWEA and developers to integrate these tools directly into the development process.
REAP application review and discussion: A lack of clarity around REAP application requirements is resulting in delays in wind focused REAP applications. As REAP funding becomes more limited, it will be increasingly important to improve scores for DW proposals. NREL will lead a discussion of the REAP technical proposal check list, discussing recommendations of the technical proposal and work with industry to standardize the types of information that would streamline proposal review processes.
Permitting, siting, and WindSmart: Permitting and siting are becoming a more common issue with turbine installations. This session will discuss with turbine installers what work, or research, is needed to better address common siting concerns observed by industry. The role of WindSmart and identification of potential pilot communities to support deeper dives on developing supportive permitting models will also be discussed.
Manufacturer focused:
Turbine monitoring consortia: The lack of credible turbine performance data remains an issue in market credibility. Following the development of the DW Monitoring guide, PNNL and NREL staff will lead a discussion to identify the key requirements (structural, organizational, legal) to enable the development of an independent DW turbine monitoring process. The goal of the session will be to identify key concerns and a core group to develop a monitoring consortia concept for further consideration by the industry and DOE.
DW structural testing needs: The expanded use of aeolistic and structural models, combined with the increasing focus on component testing for certification or re-certification purposes and the need to continue to improve reliability is driving a need for increased component level testing. This session will engage OEM’s in a dialog around the importance of structural testing, likely components of focus, what resources industry foresees needing and how the DOE laboratories can be supportive.
Interconnection solutions: Interconnection requirements continue to be identified as a key barrier to expanded DW development. Focused around interconnection standards, research, policy, data accessibility, case studies or information availability, the needed next steps to help streamline interconnection has yet to be clearly identified. This facilitated dialog will begin to identify specific next steps to address these challenges through which laboratory engagement can support further development.
3:10p-3:30p Networking Break
3:30p – 5:00p U.S. DOE National Labs – Industry Discussions, Session Part 2
Facilitator: TBD
5:00p Adjourn
5:15 – 7:00p Networking Reception – cash bar – Lobby, Residence Inn
Featuring REpowering Schools student teams and their project posters.
Wednesday, February 26 –
DWEA Lobby Day
7:30a – 8:00a Registration & Coffee
8:00a – 8:45a Policy Briefing & “Lobbying 101”
9:00a – 4:30p Congressional and Administration Meetings (in 30 min. blocks)
Small teams led by experienced DWEA representatives
5:30p – 6:30p DWEA Private Reception on Capitol Hill, Hosted by Lloyd Ritter