Listed on the Outer Banks Ocean Energy Corporation (OBOE) Web site is the logo designating the company as a member of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). We are proud to carry that affiliation. AWEA is the leading wind energy association in the United States, and it has a critical role in the evolving policies and the spread of information about renewable projects such as our Offshore Wind Farm.
More than 1,900 members strong, the American Wind Energy Association represents wind power project developers, equipment suppliers, services providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers and others in promoting the importance of wind energy in the United States. It plays a major role in shaping domestic policy on the future of wind production, and is a hub of resources for start-up projects such as OBOE. Simultaneously, the organization does a fantastic job of educating the public on the benefits associated with greater wind power production in order to meet the energy needs of businesses and consumers. In addition, OBOE is a member of the AWEA Offshore Wind Working Group. This group focuses on the key issues and development opportunities and challenges that are unique to offshore wind projects.
We mentioned in an earlier post that AWEA was one of the many resources critical to the success of projects such as OBOE. It is true that groups such as AWEA clear the path for initiatives like our planned Offshore Wind Farm to become a reality. Through networking such as the annual WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition, the organization is able to convene the industry’s top business and regulatory leaders in order to share their expertise. Held in May, WINDPOWER 2009 saw more than 23,000 attendees. (Mark your calendars for May 23-26, 2010, when the WINDPOWER conference comes to the Dallas Convention Center.)
We want to continue to form strategic partnerships with groups like AWEA to help ensure that our plans to bring an offshore wind farm to North Carolina’s coast run smoothly and benefit the maximum number of people. Our aims are to provide the most technologically-advanced wind farm available and to deliver clean energy to the local transmission grid that is reliable and cost effective. We want North Carolinians to take pride in our Offshore Wind Project as a benchmark of success and a litmus test by which future offshore wind projects are measured.