Wind expo: 3,000 blade signatures & a Great Lakes 1st

Wearable art! This design was created by artist Rodrigo Jimenez – who also works for GE in our IT department! Rodrigo came up with the 70’s vibe artwork on his own, and we liked it so much we asked if we could put it on thousands of t-shirts that were handed out at each wind blade stop.

The world’s largest wind energy conference is underway in Dallas, Texas, with the glitterati at the event including former President George W. Bush, singer Elvis Costello, “Seinfeld” star Jason Alexander — and GE’s giant wind blade, now covered with over 3,000 signatures. The 131-foot blade has been stopping in communities across the country to drum up support for a clean energy future as it makes it way to the conference, held by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The big expo was also the forum for the announcement that GE will be providing what’s known as “direct-drive” turbines — the newest gearless technology — for the first offshore, freshwater wind farm in North America. The 20 megawatt wind project — which the developers hope to grow into a 1,000 MW farm — is in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie and marks a major step towards accelerating the deployment of offshore wind in the Great Lakes.

While the wind blade tour helped raise awareness about the immense possibilities that renewable energy has in the U.S., it also underscored just how big the clean energy economy is in this country – and how it, and the jobs that come with it, can grow exponentially in the near future. In the video below, Chaz Allen, Mayor of Newton, Iowa, talks about the impact in his town.

Echoing that jobs theme was Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. Describing the newly-announced offshore wind deal, which will use new technology specifically designed for harsh offshore conditions, he said: “Ohio’s greatest potential for creating wind energy is offshore in Lake Erie, and this partnership marks a significant step forward. In Ohio, we have all the right assets to make offshore wind energy successful, including an innovative workforce and the manufacturing strengths that would allow us to build all the component parts for wind turbines. This partnership will not only advance offshore wind technologies, it will also advance Ohio’s economy.”

A star is born: GE’s blade became a bit of a celebrity in front of the Dallas wind conference.

And in our final video, GE’s Reporter at Large, Vivek Kemp, caps the 2,436-mile journey with this report from Dallas — and as you can see midway in the video, he’s got a future as a TV weatherman!