One of my pet peeves, as I scan media articles about wind energy, is the number of times when the "community" part of wind energy is either poorly communicated or entirely misunderstood.  So it is refreshing to find good stories in major media outlets which truly represent community wind and I feel like I should pass them along.  That's the case with

If you think you really know what "smart grid" is all about, raise your hand.  OK, so I can't really tell, but, if you're like me, this is a term that sounds great but has very little real content for you.  Unfortunately, most media coverage uses this term without any definition, as if we all knew what it was and how it works.  So I was pleasantly surprised to read

One of our goals here at Windustry is to link people together across the country who are working in a proactive manner with models of wind energy production that enhance local ownership and are beneficial to rural landowners.

We Energies will offer grants for qualified We electric customers (not-for-profit, schools and units of government) with the installation of a wind electric system over 20 kW and not more than 100 kW. Customer incentives are provided from We Energies Renewable Energy Development (RED) Program.

I first read media articles about this young man's determination to bring electricity to his family in Malawi with wind power over a year ago.  I'm glad to see that the story has been written up in a book. 

In my daily routine of tracking media articles on Community Wind, I occasionally find information like this article which instantly brightens my day.

Installing a large wind energy project is a major construction operation.  The process can lead to major changes in typically quiet rural areas where most of these large projects are sited.  Good preparation by local officials and advance information for residents about what to expect are two crucial elements which can enable the construction phase of a project to proceed more smoothly. 

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

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.