DOE Secretary Steven Chu with President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 29, 2009 - Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that $93 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will be used to support the development of wind energy projects.

Featured in this issue:

• Earth Day 2009
  Even one person can make a difference with Community Wind
• U.S. Wind Energy Grew by 50% in 2008
  United States leads the world with 25,300 MW capacity
• Help Community Wind Grow
  Thanks to all who became a Friend of Windustry
• Living Green Expo
  Visit Windustry at the Expo & enter to win a Framed Poster
• Windspiration
• On the Windustry Trail...

ST. PAUL, MN, April 16, 2009 — The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MN PUC) has granted the CapX2020 utilities a Certificate of Need to construct three 345-kilovolt electric transmission lines in Minnesota. The three lines will run from Fargo, SD to Monticello, MN; from Hampton, MN  through Rochester, MN to La Crosse, WI; and from Brookings, SD to Hampton, MN.

In 2008 U.S. wind energy grew by over 8,500 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity, increasing the nation’s cumulative total by 50% to over 25,300 MW, pushing the U.S. above Germany as the country with the largest amount of wind power capacity installed, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Assocation (AWEA).

The South Dakota Wind Energy Association is seeking public comments regarding the future of wind energy in the state at a series of upcoming public meetings in Freeman, Clear Lake, and Murdo, South Dakota.

Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory (LBNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released a combined report that may help wind project developers understand which federal incentives will be most economical: PTC, ITC, or Cash Grant? An Analysis of the Choice Facing Renewable Power Projects in the United States.

Featured in this issue:

• Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grants
  Energy Audits and Assistance for Farms and Rural Businesses
• New Landowner Guide Available from Windustry
  Evaluating a Wind Energy Development Company
• PTC, ITC or Cash Grant?
  Which Should a Wind Developer Use?
• Windspiration
• On the Windustry Trail...

REAP Grants to Fund Energy Audits and Assistance for Farms and Rural Businesses

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plans to make some $2.4 million in grant funds available to state, tribal and local government, land-grant colleges or universities, rural electric cooperatives, and public power entities to help farmers and rural businesses cut energy waste and develop clean energy production.