DoE allocates grants to promote US wind energy use

Successful organisations include the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in Berkeley, California; the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center; the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL).

The Wind Energy Awards add up to a total of $2.7 million to be spent on economic impact studies and projects that disseminate wind energy information.

The Wind Energy Awards are part of the Wind Powering America initiative announced by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced last summer. The initiative is intended to accelerate the use of wind energy in the US.

The successful organisations include:

• the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), which will use its grant to provide technical information, case studies and examples of how local governments in 68 US cities can switch from fossil fuel generation to renewable power sources
• the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, which will establish a regional centre for wind energy facilitation and education in the Northern Great Plains states
• the Washington DC-based National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, which will use the money to assist state public utility regulators in wind energy matters and facilitate their participation in the National Wind Co-ordinating Committee
• the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), based in Denver, Colorado, which will use its funding to help state governments pass wind energy legislation and to help state governments take part in the activities of the National Wind Co-ordinating Committee