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The George R. Brown Convention Center
welcomed over 13,000 wind energy professionals
to Houston for WINDPOWER 2008.
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Two 40-meter blades were on display directly
outside of the convention center for all to view.
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The exhibit hall featured 776 companies showcasing
all types of products and services in the wind industry.
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Various pieces of equipment were on display.
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A 3.0 MW nacelle, 2.5 MW nacelle and the shell
of a 1.5 MW nacelle were all featured in the exhibition.
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Demonstrations of other products and services
were conducted throughout the show.
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WINDPOWER provided attendees with the opportunity
to touch & feel the latest technology advancements
in the industry.
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A brand new feature at WINDPOWER was the
Sunday night concert featuring Lyle Lovett.
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Attendees enjoyed an outdoor concert by Lyle Lovett
directly following the Opening Reception in the exhibit hall.
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Lyle Lovett, a native of Houston, thanked the
attendees for their work in such an important industry.
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Another key area of this year's event was the poster
presentation displays. Over 160 posters on a variety of
wind energy topics were on display for attendees to
review throughout the show.
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There were two opportunities for attendees to meet
the poster authors and discuss their work - the Poster
Reception on Sunday evening and the Poster Session
on Monday morning following the Opening Session.
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Randall Swisher, Executive Director of the American
Wind Energy Association, welcomes the attendees to
WINDPOWER 2008 in the Opening Session.
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The Wecome & Opening Session featured many political
dignitaries including the Honorable Rick Perry, Governor of
Texas; the Honorable Kathleen Sebelius, Governor of
Kansas (seen above); the Honorable Bill White, Mayor of
Houston; Thomas C. Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural
Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and
Alexander Karsner, Assistant Secretary, U.S.
Department of Energy.
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The "Growing the Wind Business" General Session
featured a panel of wind energy industry leaders
including moderator Michael Skelly, Advisor, Horizon
Wind Energy; Vic Abate, Vice President for Renewables,
GE Energy; Gabriel Alonso, Chief Development Officer,
Horizon Wind Energy; Hunter Armistead, Babcock & Brown
LP; Ditlev Engel, President and Chief Executive Officer,
Vestas Wind Systems A/S; Michael O'Sullivan, Senior
Vice President - Development, FPL Energy LLC.
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Six concurrent session tracks spanned three days
featuring sessions on over 50 wind energy topics
plus four day-long pre-conference seminars.
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Many networking opportunities were available during the
event including the Conference Dinner on Tuesday evening.
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Time for Three, a trio of classically-trained musicians,
composed a musical piece about the wind industry which
was presented with a synchronized video during
the Conference Dinner.
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Forrest Sawyer stepped in as the Conference Dinner
keynote speaker when a family medical emergency kept
MSNBC television host Joe Scarborough from attending. |
