June 29, 2010 Newsletter

Building a New Industry—the Missing Link

"With the right policies in place, we can see explosive growth. It's a global footrace." Jeff Anthony, American Wind Energy Association

"We cannot sit idly by while China races to the forefront of clean energy production at the expense of U.S. manufacturing, U.S. jobs, and U.S. energy independence." Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senate, Ohio

"Manufacturers are chomping at the bit to come to the U.S., and it would be a tragedy if that investment was to stop. The RES is the missing link." Donald Furman, Senior Vice President, Iberdrola Renewables

Unlike Europe—which leads the world in the substitution of Windpower for fossil fuels for electricity generation, and China—which has overtaken every county in alternative energy production and now believes it can match Europe by 2020, producing a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources—the U.S. has no long-term alternative energy policy. With your help, that could change. Congress is expected to make a decision this summer on a national Renewable Energy Standard (RES) as part of the climate change legislation now before the U.S. Senate. Now is the time, before Congress breaks for its August recess, to contact your Congressman. A national RES will renew manufacturing bases and create export opportunities, jobs, and new businesses.

"We can spend the next few years pushing China to do more, but will then spend all the years after that chasing them down as they hurtle profitably down the road to low-carbon transformation." Todd Stern, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change

Act now. Use the official government websites to find and write your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator.

Supply Chain Hot Topic at AWEA, CanWEA Events

Despite predictions for a drop in turbine installations in 2010, North American chain development is brisk, based on the activity at two industry events the past month. Prospective wind turbine OEMs from Asia and Europe were active at AWEA's WINDPOWER 2010 Conference and Exhibition in Dallas in late May. U.S.-based OEMs appeared in force at CanWEA's Wind Matters Seminar on Supply Chain Development, held in Toronto in June.

According to AWEA officials, their number of exhibitors was up from the 2009. Notable this year in Dallas was the number of Asian wind turbine OEMs such as Sinovel, Goldwind, and Hyundai who marketed themselves at the show for the first time ever. Also exhibiting from Asia were foundries and forges that are seeking to access U.S. markets. The number of midsized wind turbine interests, especially from Europe, seems to be growing, too, including firms that chose not to exhibit but attended the event nonetheless. Finding U.S. partners was a theme for most.

In Toronto, Acciona, Gamesa, GE, and Vestas turned out to meet manufacturers and suppliers who attended the two-day supply chain event. Driving that interest is Ontario's Green Energy Act, passed last summer. In exchange for a 20-year guaranteed price for their new wind farms, developers there must meet domestic content requirements.

GLWN partnered with AWEA and CanWEA to conduct supply chain programs at both events.

Quality Carbon Brushes and Holders for Wind Energy

Helwig Carbon Products, Inc. has been producing high quality carbon brushes and holders for over 80 years. Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, Helwig Carbon is one of the last major American-owned carbon companies. They manufacture carbon brushes and holder systems for generators, pitch motors, lightning protection, and bearing protection.

Helwig Carbon's custom engineering, reliability, and consistency are ideally suited for the Wind Energy market. With products that are custom designed for each application, they give their customers exactly what they are looking for: products with long life and less maintenance.

Helwig Carbon employs 240 employees and operates with a high level of integrity, sound values, and a solid Midwestern work ethic. Helwig has led the industry with product innovations that have helped increase the life of the product and improved performance.

Recently, they have seen an increased demand for grounding brushes and holder systems. Some of the new-technology, direct-drive systems eliminate the need for generator brushes, but still have grounding requirements. Helwig has supplied several different standard, as well as custom grounding systems for a variety of applications.

In addition to grounding systems, Helwig Carbon has been involved in some de-icing systems for units that are subjected to the cold, harsh winters of the northern hemisphere. Their carbon brushes and holders are used to conduct current to a blade-heating system that prevents ice and snow build up. These systems are becoming more popular in colder climates where freezing temperatures and ice have a detrimental effect on the operation of wind turbines.

Ohio Passes Renewable Energy Tax Reform

by Brad Lystra, AWEA

On June 4, 2010 the Ohio General Assembly worked into the morning hours to pass votes signaling a huge victory for the wind industry, the Ohio House and Senate passed legislation eliminating the state's burdensome tangible personal property tax that until now has halted wind farm development.

Sub Senate Bill 232 passed the House by a vote of 91-7 and the Senate concurred shortly after passage by a vote of 27-5 with a final reconciled bill headed to Governor Ted Strickland's (D) desk before summer recess. The Governor's signature on the bill is all but assured, as the Governor has said that he will sign SB 232 the moment it hits his desk.

The effort and passage of Sub Senate Bill 232 was critical to bringing Ohio's tax structure for wind development sites in line with surrounding states, particularly as developers finalize decisions on which projects to prioritize to leverage expiring federal stimulus funding. SB 232 will reduce significantly the state tax burden on renewable and advanced sources of energy generation such as solar, wind, co-generation, and clean coal. The bipartisan effort was championed by Senator Chris Widener (R-Springfield), Governor Strickland and Representative Tom Leston (D-Warren), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

SB 232 makes Ohio much more competitive with its surrounding states, all of which have taxes at similar rates. This tax reform should help make the state a more attractive environment for investment and job creation in the advanced energy sectors. Today, Ohio has over 3,000 manufacturing workers building components for the wind industry and economic development models have estimated that the input of 1,100 MW of wind could deliver over 5,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs to rural Ohio communities desperately in need of economic development.

Ohio Energizing Careers Program

The Ohio Department of Development has funds available to support companies that need training in renewable and advanced energy technologies (wind, solar, biomass). The Energizing Careers Program provides customized training for improving workers’ skills in Ohio’s expanding advanced energy manufacturing sector, helping Ohio businesses remain competitive.

Managed by the Ohio Department of Development’s Workforce and Talent Division and 100 percent funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Energizing Careers Program provides technical and financial assistance directly to employers to train their workers. The total funding, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is $6 million for the Energizing Careers Program.

Completed RFPs are due to the Ohio Department of Development by July 30, 2010. For more information, visit the program's website.

GLWN's Newest Members

Gigawatt Members

• Ingeteam Inc.

Megawatt Members

• Automatic Systems, Inc.
• Galaxy Tool Corporation
• Mereen-Johnson Machine Company
• Quaker Chemical
• RK Steel, Inc.

Kilowatt Members

• Columbus Economic Development Board
• HL Precision Machining
• MATZ + CIF, LLC
• Nelson Stud Welding
• Preissner Engineering & Consulting, LLC
• Sherwin-Williams
• Stork Herron Testing Labs, Inc.