Celebrate Global Wind Day by helping to pass an RES By Chris Madison (AWEA)

And in Europe, wind energy has gained a slight edge over natural gas as the leading source of new electric generating capacity.

The United States has extraordinary wind resources and, along with China, was a leader in adding new wind farm capacity in 2009. But more needs to be done in the United States to take full advantage of the obvious benefits. AWEA wants to use Global Wind Day as an opportunity to get more people involved in wind energy—in particular, we are urging citizens to tell Congress to pass a Renewable Electricity Standard—the best way to signal the commitment and attract the investment needed to bring about increased use of wind and other forms of renewable energy.

As part of Global Wind Day activities, AWEA has set up an easy way to contact Congress–just go to www.powerofwind.com. We also have summarized the benefits in our Five Facts about wind: It’s clean, abundant, consumer-friendly, promotes energy security and creates jobs.

Time is short—there are only a few weeks left for major legislation in the Congressional schedule, and leaders are deciding whether to take up an energy bill before adjourning for the election season. To celebrate Global Wind Day, go to our advocacy page, www.Powerofwind.com, to take action.

There is plenty of bad news and pessimism in the world today. Wind energy is one way to counter the gloom and doom.

Abby Arnold and Jennifer States by honored Women in Wind

Two signal honors were conferred by Women of Wind Energy (WOWE) during the recent WINDPOWER 2010 conference in Dallas.

Abby Arnold, Executive Director of the American Wind Wildlife Institute (AWWI) and Vice President and Senior Mediator at Kearns & West, was named WoWE’s 2010 Woman of the Year. Abby has been working with the wind energy sector for 16 years, since the formation of the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC) in 1994.

In addition to AWWI and NWWC, Abby has been deeply involved in the Department of Interior Wind Turbine Guidelines Federal Advisory Committee. Her specialty is designing collaborative processes that bring diverse parties together, insert the best available science into decision-making processes and help parties achieve their goals.

Jennifer States, honored as WoWE’s 2010 Rising Star, is a senior energy specialist in the Technology Planning and Deployment group at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

Jennifer has worked in the private sector as a wind developer and in the public sector as an active member of wind task forces at different times in two states (Nebraska Wind Energy Task Force and the Kansas Governor’s Wind and Prairie Task Force). Jennifer has proven throughout her career in wind that she is a motivated individual and has the skills, interest and passion to address the barriers to wind energy through private activity and public sector work.

Women of Wind Energy, or WoWE (pronounced WOW-ee), was founded in 2005 to ensure that women can play a full, productive role in the development of wind power.

Building women’s place in wind energy is not only the right and fair thing to do; it’s a solid strategy for success. The equal engagement of women in the work force and in senior management have been linked to greater organizational communication and efficiency, broader consumer awareness, and increased profitability.

By Chris Madison, www.awea.org/blog/