April 1, 2009
By Larry Avila
APPLETON — Gov. Jim Doyle wants Wisconsin to be the nation's hub for wind energy development and center for parts to build turbines that generate electricity
"We have great assets and great manufacturing companies," Doyle said Tuesday to media representatives after an address to more than 600 attendees of the Wisconsin Wind Energy Supply Chain Seminar at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. "We also have many companies already involved in the industry."
Doyle believes more companies can get involved. A majority of the attendees represented companies either already in the wind industry or looking for opportunities.
"I want to promote more research and development in Wisconsin," he said. Doyle said legislation is pending that, if approved, would create tax credits for companies that expanded research resources in the state. "We can make Wisconsin a center for R&D in wind technology," he said.
Besides wind, the state also should capitalize on other alternative energy sources, Doyle said. "We have biofuels, forests, food processors and paper mills," he said. "The waste from some of the production processes of those industries, we feel, can be explored for alternative fuels."
Jeff Anthony, manager-utility programs for the American Wind Energy Association, who is based in Milwaukee, said his group is focusing its efforts around the Midwest to persuade manufacturers to consider making components for wind turbines.
"Right now about 50 percent of all the components in wind turbines installed the U.S. are made in the U.S., that's up from 30 percent just four years ago," Anthony said. "We'd like to see that number (of U.S.-made) components continue rising."
He said Wisconsin and other Midwest states already have a strong manufacturing base.
"The wind industry presents real opportunities," Anthony said. "Wisconsin and other Midwest states have worked with machinery for years and can be a major player in supplying parts and other components for turbines."
Jerry Murphy, executive director of the New North Inc., an economic development organization representing 18 counties across northeast Wisconsin, said his group has identified 75 businesses in the region that can produce components for wind turbines.
"It is time to look into realigning some capacities for this industry," he said. "Wisconsin can be a part of the supply chain."
