Wind Energy Workshop Thursday at the Eigerlab

February 24th, 2009 at 12:25pm Bob Trojan

Renewable energy will be getting a huge boost from the new administration. The wind energy industry can potentially be a source of additional component parts manufacturing business for Rockford.

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce Manufacturing Council’s Sub-Committee on wind energy business is sponsoring a workshop on the potential business prospects making component parts for OEM wind turbine companies. This industry has been experiencing a 40+% growth rate. In 2008, Vestas, a leading OEM, installed a wind turbine somewhere in the world every four hours. These large turbines each have up to 8,000 component parts.

In 2007, Illinois was third in the nation in newly installed wind turbine generating capacity and ranked 8^th that year in installed capacity. There are several large wind farm installations in progress in the state. The Acciona 67 turbine wind farm near Lena will soon begin generating energy.

Rockford, both from a manufacturing view point and a geographical / transportation stand point, is well positioned to take advantage of the wind industry’s growth potential.

Join us for a closer look at the possibilities of wind energy business and give us your input on how Rockford companies, individually or as a collaborative, can benefit from this growth industry.

This workshop will be held at the Eiger Lab auditorium, 707 Fulton Ave., Rockford, on Thursday, February 26^th, from 8:00 – 10:00 AM. Doors will open at 7:30 AM for registration and breakfast rolls.  Call 815-395-6626 [Richard Hrynkow] to make a reservation.  There is no cost.

Planned Agenda

• Introductions
• Overview of the Wind Industry
• Overview of Wind Turbine Systems / Components
• Supplier Requirements and Typical Certification Process
• Panel Discussion by 2-3 Local Companies Sharing Their Wind Industry Experiences
• Open Discussion Highlighting Possible Next Steps

Entry Filed under: Networking, Technology, Economy