An Open Letter To Mark Del Franco, North American Windpower Magazine

Dear Mark,

I completely agree with you about solidifying leadership, especially in AWEA, and in the wind industry in general. Your call for vision and inspired action in the face of uncertain revenue and regulatory structures is right on the mark.

However, there is another bug in the sink, so to speak; we need vision and leadership to improve the North American power grid in order to get new wind projects online, and to lighten the burden of adding energy storage structures to intermittent renewable sources for grid stability and reliable supplies.

Given that solar power, wind's bright young pre-teen sister, faces the same issues with the grid, I think both industries need to join hands on this.

I would propose a four-pronged approach to the problem:

1. A joint fund should be established which all entities in the industry could contribute nominal amounts to. The purpose of the fund would be to fund the most critical pieces of new grid infrastructure in order of importance. This would be an on-going effort that would continue over the years to build new line routes between renewable generation sources and large-demand markets. It would also fund the construction of high-speed, high-capacity switching interconnects around the grid. This would be on-going, year-after-year.

2. A joint task force from the wind and solar industries should be formed to lobby governmental entities for both funding and regulatory support of grid upgrades. This task force should have a secondary mission of doing the PR work to gain public support for these upgrades.

3. Another joint task force should be formed with the express purpose of getting the oil and coal giants onboard for renewable energy projects to as great an extent as possible. These corporations have huge financial, technical, and legal resources at their disposal. Increasing their participation and stake in the renewable energy industry in a positive manner could bring large benefits to the industry.

The existing power grid took many decades of continuous and incremental effort to build, and all of the strides made in renewables has done the same. This is a game that requires a long view.

What seems like a strange alliance now may in a decade or two make great sense and become as common as dandelions in the grass at public parks as climate change keeps putting pressure on the global industry and governments over the years. Every seed planted now will be better for us all as time goes on, and younger executives come onboard everywhere.

Every way found to tend to such a garden now could pay great dividends now.

Finally, we come to number four:

Find a way to allow ordinary working people to invest retirement funds in all of this. Create a 401k fund or funds that can invest in this. As a working-class American, I currently have zero options to direct my retirement funding to investment in a sustainable energy future. That fact us incredibly frustrating to me. I am sure there are a few million other middle-class persons who are also aware of that utter vacuum. A vast pool of un-tapped financial resources is log-jammed in the rigid current structure of retirement funding choices. Find a way to turn that faucet on, sir.

Respectfully,

Dan Stafford
Publisher -The Great Lakes Zephyr Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal
Democratic Precinct Committeeman, York Township precinct 112, DuPage county, IL
20-year veteran telecommunications technician in the long distance industry.