Home » How We Think » Three Ps » Great Lakes Wind Network
Breaking into and succeeding in the wind energy supply chain is not easy. The performance criteria are necessarily stringent, the customers are rightfully demanding and the investment required is often daunting.
Workshops, seminars, consultants and strategic relationships are all part of the mix.
GLWN is an international wind energy supply chain advisory group and network of manufacturers and suppliers whose mission is to increase the domestic content of North America’s wind turbines. GLWN is hosting its Advanced Wind Workshop on June 16, 2010 in Kettering, Ohio (near Dayton). This workshop is designed for companies that provide products and services for wind farm development, construction, or operations and maintenance, or if you can manufacture fabricated or composite parts for a wind turbine.
Click for registration information.
If Northeast Ohio does not succeed in building a sustainable, thriving advanced energy cluster, it won’t be for lack of trying.
If the region does succeed, plenty of people, projects and partners (yes, another Three Ps) will deserve credit. An exhaustive list could go on for pages, but here are four Northeast Ohio groups to watch:
- Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University, whose mission is to enable the transition to advanced sustainable energy generation, storage, distribution and utilization, through coordinated research, development and education
- Great Lakes Wind Network, which is an international supply chain advisory group and network of manufacturers whose mission is to increase the domestic content of North America’s wind turbines
- NASA Glenn Research Center, which is evaluating several demonstration projects, to test, evaluate and advance institution applications of wind turbines, fuel cells, and photovoltaics
- NorTech Energy Enterprise, which is leading a collaborative regional effort to drive commercial activity in advanced energy
Of course, other regions, states and countries have similar ideas – and every area has its advantages to promote and its disadvantages to overcome. The difference between being a big winner and a disappointed contender may be small. The big idea is in place; now, like everything else, it comes down to execution on a day-to-day, one-on-one basis.
Cleveland is rallying around sustainability, including green jobs, alternative energy, a sustainable lifestyle, etc. We have lots of organizations and committees, and are holding countless meetings and summits. Many past special emphasis programs have fallen short because of no grand plan, little coordination, and much more talk and posturing than measurable, sustainable progress.
The players in sustainability are many and their positive energy is impressive, so maybe this time the path and the results will be different.
Here are some notable issue-specific groups to follow: Cleveland Sustainability Summit participants, which was led by Mayor Frank Jackson and now includes more than 20 sub-groups; Entrepreneurs 4 Sustainability (E4S); Corporate Sustainability Network; GreenCityBlueLake Institute; Fowler Center for Sustainable Value; Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force; Great Lakes Energy Institute; Great Lakes WIND Network; and NorTech’s Advanced Energy Initiative – in addition organizations with broader agendas that include sustainability.
That’s a lot of activity, but please don’t automatically equate activity with achievement. We have plenty of good ideas and true believers who can be activated. The question is “can we execute”? Can we make measurable, sustainable progress without creating yet another series of groups and sub-groups, the “committees to oversee the committees”?
