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While the skeptics argue about snowstorms and climate change, the U.S. is in danger of watching a growing industrial revolution in energy technology from the sidelines. Senator Ted Kaufman writes in the "News Journal" that "the future lies in growing the green economy."
Kaufman says that's where the smart money is:
Many of our smartest investors see this and are betting on clean energy. John Doerr, who helped fund small startups with names like Amazon and Google, believes it. Vinod Khosla, who founded Sun Microsystems, believes it. Companies that have been on the forefront of innovation for more than a century, like General Electric and Delaware's homegrown champion, DuPont, believe it.Last summer, I joined a group of environmental leaders who met with our two senators to talk about climate change. I made the economic case for renewable energy, and mentioned an op-ed that John Doerr and GE CEO Jeff Immelt wrote. Our senators' ears perked up at the names; Doerr had met with senators last summer about using energy technology to rebuild our industrial economy. It so happens that Delaware's two senators have MBAs, and understand what Doerr was saying. Kaufman said at the meeting that the U.S. has to be in the business of building something. Unfortunately, Kaufman writes, China is leaping ahead of us:
Last year China became the world's biggest manufacturer of wind turbines. China had already become the leading source of solar panels, and is now working around the clock to expand green technologies -- from nuclear power and carbon capture and storage to more efficient lighting and heating.Kaufman concludes the renewable energy is a smart investment:
Green technology is not just an environmental movement anymore; it is a wise financial investment and a linchpin in ultimately putting Americans back to work.
Mike Barnard
Ill give a few examples of people I consider wind energy gurus, and what I know of the paths they took to get there.
PAUL GIPE is an obvious candidate. A Californian, he put his money where his mouth is in the early 1980s and devoted his career to wind energy. He ran a small wind testing centre, worked closely on policy issues, wrote extensively, helped jurisdictions around the world embed incentive programs for renewables and published books or chunks of books. Hes considered one of the foremost experts on feed-in-tariffs today, consulting around the world, and his site, WIND-WORKS: Welcome, is one of the most visited wind energy specific sites in the world.
LYN HARRISON is another obvious candidate. She was in PR in the early 1980s, but was offered a role leading a wind industry magazine, Wind Power Monthly, due to her journalism background. For roughly thirty years she helmed the magazine, wrote content herself, edited the magazine, pigeonholed wind industry executives and dug into wind industry concerns worldwide. Lyn Harrison EnergyBiz
MIKE BERGEY is another obvious candidate. Bergey Windpower is the maker of the top selling small wind turbine and has been for a couple of decades. Hes built and refined more small wind turbines than virtually anyone else in the world. Hes written extensively, publishing over 70 technical papers on the subject. Hes led national bodies such as the American Wind Energy Association and the Distributed Wind Energy Association. Bergey Wind PowerBergey Wind Power
Then there are people like ANAND NATARAJAN and PETER HJULER JENSEN of Danmarks Tekniske Universitet - DTU, who are doing overall coordination of the Innwind.eu - project, which is solving the technical challenges involved in building 20 MW wind turbines. They have been doing applied research related to wind energy design and manufacturing for decades between them, and are part of the Northern European group of academic institutes that have strong ties to the wind industry.
I could step through the basis for lots of people I would consider wind energy gurus, many of whom I interact with at least occasionally and often regularly.
But Im sure as I was A2Aed anonymously, the question is partly asking why I see fit to call myself a wind energy guru and how I got here, for whatever motivations the question was asked.
First, lets establish bona fides for my calling myself a wind energy guru.
* I just became Senior Fellow - Wind with the Energy and Policy Institute (Energy and Policy Institute), a small US think tank with an emerging global perspective.
* Last year the World Wind Energy Association asked me to contribute to a book they were developing.
* My analysis of the current state of the art and viability of airborne wind energy system attracted comments on my blog from PhDs and researchers from around the world engaged in the space, usually agreeing with most of what I said without being comfortable with my conclusions.
* Ive been asked due to my acknowledged insights in airborne wind to contribute to a documentary on the subject as the lone skeptic.
* My material on wind energy and health is used world wide in advocacy efforts, and to help shape court room responses in some cases.
* Im contacted by journalists and offer backgrounders related to wind energy, as well as pointers to key public experts on certain areas.
* My material is reblogged and republished regularly, often by wind energy associations and news sites devoted to renewables.
* Im asked to write articles fairly regularly due to the coherence of my views. Most recently, Page on cleantechnica.com has given me a pulpit.
* My barnard on wind blog is a geeky and narrow blog, and still manages hundreds of hits daily.
* Paul Gipe (see above) is quoting me in his upcoming book, and regularly includes my material on his site.
* I am asked by a couple of leading academics, one very highly awarded, to perform early reviews of academic papers on wind energy and health now, based on my depth and breadth on the subject, and review public health assessments before they are published.
* Ive been asked for formal peer review on a wind energy and acoustics study by a peer-reviewed journal, despite having no academic or professional qualifications related to acoustics.
* I am regularly asked for my opinion on specific wind energy innovations, sometimes by investors, sometimes by inventors. Most recently, I spent a bunch of time on the phone with JP Morgan for their strategic energy outlook report.
* I have a solid understanding of wind energy and health, politics, incentive programs, property value impacts, acoustics, wildlife impacts, environmental impacts, etc, having researched and written on all of them, and my material is regularly referenced by others.
Theres more, but you get the point. My expertise is externally validated by industry experts and observers.
So how did I get here without working in the industry or being an academic focussed on it?
Well, this:
xkcd: Duty Calls
I ran across a bunch of statements a few years ago about utility-scale wind energy online that struck me as absurd. So I researched, and argued and posted references, and argued and researched and argued and wrote. That gave me a basis in the health and acoustics angles of wind energy.
I made it my business to answer questions on Quora regarding wind energy, partly so that I would have referenceable material to link to when arguing with people online who were spreading disinformation about wind energy and partly as a mechanism to drive my personal learning.
Due to the strength of my writing, I was invited to join a couple of background discussion groups related to wind energy and health and similar things, with PhDs and the like. I speak regularly with some of the leading researchers and academics in this field as a result.
And I brought my existing strengths of business sense, systems thinking and broad pattern observations to bear. I extended my scope, researched and wrote coherently. And I kept improving my material. And arguing with people who were wrong on the internet.
And now Im a wind energy guru, or at least I can play one on the internet without burning with shame.
But to be clear, I dont pretend to be a courtroom expert as these guys do. That level of arrogance is mostly on the other side of the argument: Anti-wind Experts: a species that is actually endangered by wind energy
See question on Quora
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