Gov. Granholm Keynotes Small and Community Wind, Supply Chain Meetings in Detroit

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm (D) today urged the wind industry to invest in Michigan. “If you’re a wind company looking to invest, we want you in Michigan,” she said, kicking off a packed conference and workshop on small and community wind and supply chain issues, held at the Cobo Center.

Governor Granholm continued, “In Michigan, we’re turning the so-called rust belt into a green belt of clean energy manufacturing. We’ve got a robust and growing wind supply chain of more than 70 companies in Michigan already, doing hundreds of millions of dollars in business annually.”

Nearly 1,700 people are expected to attend the conference and workshop, the largest attendance ever at an American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) conference other than its annual WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition. In addition, more than 100 exhibitors are displaying the latest wind small turbine technology.

“Wind energy is giving people power, opportunity and hope for the future,” said. Denise Bode, AWEA CEO. “Record attendance at the conference and workshop reflects the increasing importance of the small and community sectors of the industry, and the demand for additional wind energy manufacturing facilities in the United States.

“In Detroit we are giving citizens tools to take control of their energy future, and showing businesses how they can enter the wind industry, which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs for Americans. With an economic recovery and the right local and federal policies, including a strong renewable electricity standard, there is no limit to what our industry can achieve in producing clean energy and good jobs.”

Jacob Susman of OwnEnergy, a community wind developer and co-chair of the conference, said, “This conference is really the coming of age event for Community Wind. A number of compelling factors have converged to create the ‘perfect storm’ for Community Wind in the U.S., including the need for local jobs, economic development and renewable projects that can seamlessly connect to the existing grid infrastructure. The time is right to focus on smaller, distributed wind projects that give ownership to the local community.”

Charles Newcomb of NexGen Energy Partners, also a co-chair, said, “We know it’s been a tough year in Detroit. And it’s hard to see exactly what the future holds. But speaking as a wind developer, we need exactly what Detroit has. Contract manufacturers that have been serving the auto industry can make small and mid-sized wind work for America.”

Trevor Lauer, a vice president of utility DTE Energy, which serves 3.4 million Michigan customers, noted that community wind presents few problems connecting to the grid. “We are working to bring community wind into our system.”

According to a study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project, Michigan is one of the top five states in potential manufacturing job creation from large-scale wind power development.
AWEA has estimated that Michigan has 32 existing and announced wind-related manufacturing facilities, which will result in more than 1,200 jobs. Last year, the wind industry opened, announced or expanded 55 new manufacturing facilities nationwide, and added 35,000 new jobs.