Small Wind a Big Draw at Wind Power 2009
The usual suspects were at Wind Power 2009 this week, including GE Energy Wind, Vestas, Broadwind Energy and Siemens. Each brought with them their normal buzz and booth heft, and most big players tried to focus a good portion of the discussion on the potential of offshore wind farms.
But perhaps the most consistently well trafficked portion of the show floor was the small wind pavilion, which boasted a number of companies with interesting solutions to providing distributed wind power. Southwest Windpower, a company with a lot of installation traction in the market, was very well received at the show. Mariah Power was another beneficiary of a lot of interest.
One company that didn't make it into the small wind pavilion, but qualifies as a provider in that category is Helix Wind. The company was several rows and columns away from Southwest Windpower and Mariah Power, but seemed to draw nearly as much interest for its unique design.
Small wind is not a new category--some of these companies have been producing product off of a manufacturing line for several years, but it is clear that many commercial and residential customers like the idea of small wind and the asthetics of some of the solutions. From a PR perspective, a lot of small wind companies have yet to make a big PR splash, but as the technology improves, home equity and financing come back, and more states begin offering tax credits, the market will likely take off.
Tags: ge+wind, helix+wind, mariah+power, siemens+wind, small+wind, southwest+windpower, vestas, wind+power+2009, wind+pr
Posted by Jason Morris on May 8, 2009 at 9:00 PM
