#AmericanWindWeek 2019 serves as a springboard for continued advocacy, communications, and public support for wind energy. Despite the wind power’s phenomenal growth, many Americans, even some in communities that host wind farms and factories, don’t know much about it. #AmericanWindWeek is a chance to bring the wind community together– technicians, manufacturers, those benefiting from tax and land lease payments, and many more– to engage with the community and educate lawmakers.
“#AmericanWindWeek has been an ideal excuse for rallying support and driving local support around our industry’s work,” says Adam Renz, Manager of Business Development at Pattern Energy, and one of AWEA’s first wind week partners back in 2017. “Unlike other industry “holidays #AmericanWindWeek has provided us with a tangible week of celebration and a reason to bring our communities and champions together.”
Lawmakers, awards and events
While wind has proven to be a competitive clean energy option, it wouldn’t be the booming industry it is today without stellar support from dedicated members of the United States Congress and state and local lawmakers.
#AmericanWindWeek has been an opportunity to educate lawmakers and to highlight the leadership that has paved the way for this growing industry. Last year, over 70 lawmakers participated in #AmericanWindWeek and learned how wind is powering opportunity for their constituents.
Jeff Danielson, AWEA’s new Central Region Director, is a former Iowa state senator, and as a former elected official, he shared what a big impact events like #AmericanWindWeek can have on lawmakers.
“As a former lawmaker, I cherished the opportunity to celebrate the successes of good public policy that opportunities like #AmericanWindWeek offer,” Jeff said. “While it’s understood that public service can be a thankless journey, it nice to pause and sing the praises of what’s working. To that end, wind power is opportunity and it works for America!”
This week is also an opportunity to highlight new wind energy customers, led by some of the world’s largest companies. Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft and AT&T have signed contracts for over 10,000 megawatts of wind energy to date, which is more than all of the wind built in Iowa, America’s number two wind state.
These companies also engaged in #AmericanWindWeek 2018 by attending events, engaging on social media using #AmericanWindWeek, and writing blogs about why wind works for their companies.
Social media and proclamations
In 2018 the conversation boomed on social media with 53 million #AmericanWindWeek impressions, a 67 percent increase from 2017, and a total of 30 mayors and governors also declared proclamations that August 5-11, 2018 was #AmericanWindWeek. We’re expecting even more governors and mayors to declare proclamations in 2019, so stay tuned!
Thank you AWEA members
We want to thank you for making last year’s #AmericanWindWeek a successful national week of celebration and education, as AWEA members are the backbone of this special annual event. But more importantly, we want to thank you for the hard work you’ve done every day to construct and grow this American success story. Since last year, wind energy has continued to blow past the competition and power the country. The total number of employees in the wind industry increased to 114,000, over $1 billion was paid by the industry in state and local taxes and land lease payments, and a record number of Fortune 500 companies, cities, universities and utilities purchased wind energy in an effort to reach their sustainability goals.
Looking forward to #AmericanWindWeek 2019
This year, we’re looking to expand on that success and make #AmericanWindWeek the biggest and best it’s ever been, and you can help by attending/hosting a Wind Week event, engaging on social media with #AmericanWindWeek, reaching out to your lawmakers encouraging them to engage with #AmericanWindWeek, and educating your peers about the benefits of wind energy. AWEA member engagement is vital to the success of this week, and we’re here to answer any questions you might have about how you can help and engage with others.
