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Annual Meeting of
American Wind Industry To Highlight The WINDPOWER 2002 Conference and Exhibition, the largest-ever American wind industry meeting June 2-5 in Portland, Oregon, will feature a series of guest speakers that represents a virtual Who's Who of energy policy and industry leadership from across the country. The conference will provide an opportunity for these national leaders to discuss the role of wind energy in the United States and the challenges facing both government and the private sector in the development of an integrated energy policy for the 21st century.
“I am confident that wind energy will play an increasingly important role
in our country's energy generation in the 21st Century, and I welcome the
opportunity to discuss energy policy with the leaders of this fast-growing
industry,” said Patrick Wood III, chairman of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission and a speaker in the WINDPOWER opening session.
“From transmission access to the role of regional transmission
organizations in facilitating the development of renewable resources and
development of adequate transmission capacity, WINDPOWER 2002 should
provide an excellent opportunity to address critical energy infrastructure
issues.” "In the very near future, America's demand for energy is going to put serious pressure on our natural resources and the economy," said U.S. Senator Gordon H. Smith. "To keep pace with our needs while protecting the environment, we have to explore all possibilities for increasing our use of clean, renewable energy supplies like wind power." Wind energy development in Oregon has taken on a new importance in since the Stateline Wind Generating Project opened on the Oregon-Washington border at the end of 2001. Stateline, the world's second largest wind farm, will produce enough power for 70,000 homes when it is fully operational later this year. In April, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas, announced it would build a manufacturing facility in Portland that is expected to create as many as 1,000 new jobs. Oregon is also home to Pacificorp Power Marketing and the Bonneville Power Administration, two major utility players in the growing wind energy industry. “I am pleased to welcome the American wind industry to Portland, the center of wind energy development in the Pacific Northwest,” declared Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. “The wind industry’s decision to meet in Portland is one more indication of Oregon’s growing role in wind energy development not just in the region, but nationwide, and we are proud to host the largest-ever wind energy conference in the U.S.” Other speakers at WINDPOWER 2002 include: Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy David Garman of the U.S. Department of Energy; Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Administrator Stephen J. Wright; and AWEA President David Blittersdorf. In addition, a Wind Industry Executive Forum will feature a group of wind industry leaders, including Dean Gosselin, Vice President of Wind Development of FPL Energy, North America's largest developer, owner, and operator of wind plants; Robert Gates, Vice President of Business Development of GE Wind Energy, the largest U.S. wind turbine manufacturer; and Ed Berkel, Vice President North America, Shell WindEnergy BV. AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy |
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©
2002 by the American Wind Energy Association. |
