"You can feel the flow of benefits," Malcolm Bridge says, adding that private wind-farm developers might have more success if they found ways to allow local residents to invest in their ventures.

Part of my work at Windustry involves media searches for articles related to community wind. While most of the news is local (North America anyway) every now and then something turns up regarding
international efforts to provide avenues for local economic engagement with commercial-scale wind energy development.

OK - So really hard-core environmentalists have often gotten theoretically derogatory names - like Tree Hugger.

The community wind development model was featured in Mother Earth News as one of the leading methodologies for establishing wind energy. The article provides a great explanation of community wind projects and it features successful programs from around the globe.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran an article today about the Suzlon blade manufacturing facility in Pipestone, MN. The whole wind energy industry in the U.S. has been feeling the stress that comes with rapid growth, and the article has a nice discussion of how these growth pressures are impacting this particular facility.

It must be the time of year to think about wind leases, because they've been coming up in the media a lot lately. Last Friday a piece was published in the Worthington (MN) Daily Globe about landowners who have been approached in SW Minnesota by a wind development company.

Forty five attendees spent the last day of Community Wind Energy 2008 on a day trip to the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort to see the 1.5 MW community wind project. We enjoyed presentations about the turbine (named Zephyr) from Tyler Fairbank of EOS Ventures and Brian Fairbank of Jiminy Peak. The highlight of the day was a trip up a ski lift to hike to the base of the turbine and then back down the mountain. A wonderful lunch was provided as well. Thanks again to EOS Ventures for sponsoring the trip and Jiminy Peak for being such great hosts!

We just wrapped up the second day of Community Wind Energy 2008 in Albany, New York. The conference has been a great success, with people from 36 states, 4 other countries, and all parts of the community wind world in attendance.

Tomorrow we head to Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts to learn about their community wind project.

We are! Windustry staff spent Sunday afternoon getting the Empire State Plaza Convention Center all ready for Community Wind Energy 2008, which starts tomorrow (Monday, April 14) at 7 am with an early-bird session on wind energy basics. Most attendees will start at 8:30 in the main convention hall. You can still register on site if you haven't done so yet.

Windustry, and hundreds of others in the community wind world, will be in Albany, New York on April 14-16 for Community Wind Energy 2008. This is a national conference where all sorts of people can come together to support and encourage community wind.