Wind Energy: Powering Our Homes, Businesses and Communities Workshop-in-a-Box

2005

Western Area Power Administration, in cooperation with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America Program, is pleased to issue the updated Wind Energy: Building Our Homes, Businesses and Communities Workshop-in-a-Box.

Heightened consumer awareness about electricity disruptions, escalating energy prices and environmental concerns is pressuring local governments to examine their own potential to bring clean and reliable energy to their communities. This Workshop-in-a-Box was designed to provide the latest information about wind energy to state, municipal and governmental agencies, community groups, utilities and other consumers so this resource can be appropriately evaluated as an energy source.

What's in This Box

Western has collected some of the best tools to assist you in educating your community about wind energy. The materials in this box, including interactive and hard copy, will let you mix and match the best written and visual information for your audience–whether it's a community decision maker or a utility's board of directors. Information in the box covers both utility-scale and small wind technologies. We hope you find this a useful product in your work.

1. Wind Energy: Powering Our Homes, Businesses and Communities CD-ROM is an interactive tool that features some of the best information about wind power from the Internet.  Whether you need general wind energy information or more detailed and technical resources, this CD will help you through slide shows, Power Point presentations, workshop tips and sample agendas, all designed to help you find exactly what you're looking for as you educate your community about wind power. We hope you find this product useful in your important work.

2. The Wind Power Handbook for Public Utilities: A Summary of State Wind Working Group Handbook, is a comprehensive document on the wide array of issues in wind power development. It begins with a four page executive summary, and includes appendices for further information.  The document was compiled and updated by Daniel J. Fleischmann and Meghan L. McInnis, and prepared for the American Public Power Association's Demonstration of Energy Efficient Developments (DEED) Program, Fall 2004.

3. Wind Power: Today and Tomorrow is a U.S. Department of Energy document highlighting the accomplishments of the wind power industry and describes the federal Wind Technologies Program.

4. The Crop of the Future, from Waverly Light and Power, Waverly, Iowa. A 10-minute video on DVD about wind power and its affect on a small Iowa community, as well as broader information on wind power and its implications for the United States. The DVD also provides links, photos, and a short Power Point presentation.

5. The Power of Wind is an award winning video by the American Wind Energy Association. The eleven-minute video discusses the history of wind in the United States, how wind technology works, and the state of wind technology today. It has an overview of costs, video coverage of installation and of wind farms themselves, and interviews with individuals who have installed wind projects. It also discusses environmental benefits and small wind projects.

6. The NREL Small Wind Speakers Toolkit CD, Edited by Jim Green at NREL, is a comprehensive multi-media slide show about small wind power for home, farm, and business applications. It is also a guide to help understand small wind technology. 

7. Small Wind Electric Systems: A U.S. Consumers Guide is a guide for individual consumers, schools, and small businesses interested in putting up small wind turbines.

Acknowledgements

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council is indebted to the many people and organizations that helped create this updated Wind Workshop-in-a-Box for Western and U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Wind Powering America Program.  Special thanks go to Larry Flowers, NREL and Phil Dougherty of the U.S. DOE Wind Powering America Program, and to Daniel J. Fleischmann and Megan McInnis, 2004 U.S. DOE Wind Powering America Program sponsored student interns at the American Public Power Association.

If you'd like more information about this Workshop-in-a-Box, contact Randy Manion Manion@wapa.gov, or by phone at 720.962.7423. Information about other renewable energy technologies can be found at the Public Renewables Partnership Website at www.repartners.org.