I attended the American Wind Energy Association’s WINDPOWER 2009 in Chicago May 4-7. AWEA WINDPOWER is the premier wind energy conference and exhibition in North America. The North American wind market has been in a steady growth mode for well over five years with a tremendous boom for the past three years. Wind power generating capacity increased by 32% in 2007 and projections for 2009 are trending to be even greater.

The AWEA WINDPOWER Conference and Exhibition is the largest annual wind conference and exhibition in the world, this year featuring over 15,000 attendees and over 1,200 exhibitors. Each year, wind energy professionals gather at this event to learn about the latest industry developments and technologies, review new products and services in the expansive exhibit hall, and network with leading industry decision makers.

LizardTech did not have a booth at this show. As this was our first year at AWEA WINDPOWER we decided to save a little money by only attending rather than exhibiting and I was able to cruise the floor and scout out good leads. We did not spring for the sessions’ access – that would have been an additional $800.00. If you missed the sessions, too, they’re available on DVD for $500.00 at http://www.awea3.org/source/Orders/index.cfm?Section=Store .

I feel that it was better (and cheaper) to be an attendee at this show rather than exhibitor. It was too huge to be stuck in a booth all day. Walking the floor each day and talking with other exhibitors about their GIS needs (most didn’t know what GIS was) I was able to get better leads than I would have at a booth. There is something for everybody at this show and I hope to be back in 2010, when the conference will be held in Dallas. Details about next year’s show are at http://www.windpowerexpo.org/2010/coming_soon.cfm .

Photo courtesy of the American Wind Energy Association.