Program Highlights
See below for information on the following program highlights at WINDPOWER 2008:
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The WINDPOWER 2008 Conference program had over 50 education sessions, and included over 350 speakers and moderators, and 150 poster presentations on leading wind energy topics. There was no better place to learn the latest industry developments and new technology than WINDPOWER 2008.
The conference was organized by Program Chairs, Brian McNiff, President, McNiff Light Industry, and Michael Skelly, Advisor, Horizon Wind Energy with assistance from Vanessa Kellogg, Regional Development Director, Horizon Wind Energy. The program theme was "Wind: Thriving at the Epicenter of Energy," and the conference focused on the actions required to maintain wind energy's position as a central piece of the U.S. energy mix and to ensure its continued growth trajectory.
GENERAL SESSIONS
WINDPOWER 2008 featured several general sessions, including the conference theme session, “Wind: Thriving at the Epicenter of Energy,” consisting of a panel of top wind industry leaders. The focus of their discussions included their perspectives on the wind industry’s future and major opportunities and challenges while the industry continues to grow.
SESSION TRACKS
WINDPOWER 2008 had 6 session tracks everyday from Monday through Wednesday, more than ever before. Day-long session tracks were:
- Finance
- Wind Power Growth
- Resource Assessment
- Policy
- Key Issues
- Wind at the Epicenter
- Business
- Project Development
- Utility
- International / Regional
- Advanced Applications
- Value Chain
- Asset Management
- Transmission
- Wind Turbine Technology
- Community / Onsite Wind
For a session schedule at a glance, CLICK HERE.
SCIENTIFIC TRACK
For the second year in a row, AWEA had special scientific sessions spread throughout the conference tracks. These sessions featured presentations that were each longer than those of the regular sessions, giving selected authors an opportunity to further explain the technical details of their papers. The authors were also invited to submit their final papers to a scholarly journal for consideration for publication.
CONFERENCE DVD-ROM & PRE-CONFERENCE CD-ROM
The WINDPOWER 2008 Conference was recorded onto a single DVD-ROM, available to attendees at significantly reduced prices. The Conference DVD-ROM contains audio recordings of the conference sessions (excluding Sunday's pre-conference seminars) synched to the speakers' PowerPoint presentations. The DVD-ROM also includes all the submitted posters, final papers, and video recordings of the General Sessions.
Participants could only attend 1 of the 4 all-day pre-conference seminars held on Sunday, so these 4 sessions are available on individual CD-ROM. The seminars are audio-recorded and synched to the speakers' PowerPoint presentations. You can purchase 1 or all of the 4 pre-conference seminar CD-ROMS:
- Wind Energy 101: Fundamentals of Wind Energy
- Wind Energy 201: What Makes the Development Process Successful
- Wind Energy Forecasting 101
- Safety Within the Wind Industry
For more information, CLICK HERE.
POSTER SESSION & RECEPTION
AWEA once again featured over 150 educational poster presentations as a unique way for authors to convey their work, ideas and research. The posters were displayed in the convention center and were available to attendees for viewing throughout the conference. A special Poster Reception was held on Sunday evening from 5:00 - 6:00 pm, immediately preceding the Exhibit Hall Opening Reception. We also scheduled a Poster Session on Monday morning from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, in order to provide more quality time to review the posters and interact with the poster authors.
FIRST-TIME ATTENDEE ORIENTATION
Sunday, June 1, 4:30 - 5:00 PM
A special session was held for first-time attendees, prior to the Poster and Opening Receptions on Sunday, to provide an overview of the conference and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). This session was an opportunity to meet AWEA staff, AWEA board members and conference committee members. Attendees got insider perspectives from key members of the conference management team and hot tips from longtime conference goers. Senior representatives from AWEA staff discussed the role of AWEA, the committees within, and how AWEA functions help members. For first timers wanting to make the most of all the unique conference opportunities, this session was not to be missed!
PRE-CONFERENCE SEMINARS
Sunday, June 1, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
(To see detailed agenda and speakers, CLICK HERE)
Wind Energy 101: Fundamentals of Wind Energy
(This seminar was designed for those who have 0-2 years of experience in wind)
Every year, AWEA offers this non-technical seminar, which provides a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of utility-scale wind energy. Anyone wanting to learn the basics of the wind energy industry will benefit from this day-long introductory seminar. Topics covered include an overview of the wind industry, wind energy economics, siting issues, wind resource analysis, technology, transmission and utility grid issues, and small wind. This seminar makes the perfect primer for the more detailed conference sessions that follow.
Wind Energy 201: What Makes the Development Process Successful
Moving a project from the pipeline to the finish line doesn’t just happen - it is made to happen! Following the success of the WINDPOWER 2006 and 2007 programs, this seminar is back. Conducting a due diligence review of a virtual project over the course of the seminar, expert speakers explore and reveal best practices that turn development assets into generating assets. The seminar explains the most important aspects of successful wind project development through coverage of a wide range of topics, including wind resource, financing, permits, transmission issues, impact on the surrounding environment, asset management, and establishing strong relationships with communities, landowners, government agencies and utilities.
Wind Energy Forecasting 101
The energy output of a wind project is highly variable over time, which leads to challenges in integrating that energy into system grids and scheduling energy on a forward basis to maximize project revenue. To address these challenges, modern wind energy forecasting systems have been deployed globally wherever major wind energy facilities are operational. This pre-conference seminar provides an in-depth examination of the forecast technologies, how forecasts are used by various system operators and market participants, and provides a discussion of the challenges remaining in forecasting wind energy output. The seminar is recommended for all wind energy professionals seeking a better understanding of the key role that wind energy forecasting plays in the development of wind energy projects worldwide.
Safety Within the Wind Industry
Organized with assistance of the AWEA Safety Committee, this seminar provides a series of presentations on relevant wind project’s health and safety topics that are of significant importance to the wind industry. These sessions focus on both new and existing regulatory requirements for the wind industry and industry best practice. The seminar is designed to engage not only health and safety officials but also provide "value added" information to executives, managers and administrators who must make key decisions on safety-related matters.
PAPER "LESS" SESSIONS **NEW**
In an effort to be more environmentally friendly, AWEA was excited to announce that for the first time, the WINDPOWER 2008 conference would be going paperless for the session handouts.
What did that mean? We would not be distributing the session handouts on-site at the conference in hard copy format. No more bulky packets or wasted paper from printing hundreds of copies for over 50 sessions. Instead, attendees had access to electronic copies of all speaker bios, presentation materials, and handouts online before, during, and after the conference through the following 3 methods:
Before the meeting: Registered attendees received an email announcing when the conference materials were available. They could print them out in advance at their convenience or download them to their computers if they preferred.
Onsite: A limited number of printing stations were available where attendees could print the handouts they needed, or download the presentations to their laptops so they could follow along in the conference sessions. Attendees also received a blank notepad for taking notes during the sessions.
After the meeting: Handouts were available to conference attendees online until June 30.
Thank you for your cooperation and support of this new initiative, designed to be one way to make WINDPOWER 2008 more environmentally-friendly than ever!
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