Wind Industry Gathers in Chicago – This is No Cottage Business

ByRod Adams

The American Wind Energy Association held its annual meeting last week in Chicago. It was a massive affair full of optimism and high powered government and industry leaders laying out their plans for the future. There was also an impressive display of wares in the exhibition hall.

Here are some statistics – 1,200 exhibitors, 23,000 attendees, 290,400 square feet of exhibition floor space. Speeches by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Energy Secretary Steven Chu (via a taped speech) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff. Attendance by seven governors, including Chet Culver of Iowa, Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Pat Quinn of Illinois, Ted Strickland of Ohio, Mark Parkinson of Kansas and Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania. You can watch some video of the event at http://www.awea.org/windpower2009/webisodes/

Next week, I hope to sneak in a few minutes at the Nuclear Energy Assembly that will be held here in Washington, DC. It will be interesting to compare the two, especially in light of the characterization by anti-nuclear activists that nuclear power represents corporate and government power while wind power is more community oriented and locally controlled.

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

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