City of Sun Prairie Hosts Wind Power Happy Hour Reunion (City of Sun Prairie)

It was a small group for our first meeting in over a year, but there was some great discussion as usual.  Highlight of the evening was a chance to meet Tyler Huebner, the new Executive Director from RENEW Wisconsin.  What was clear right from the start was that Tyler shares the idea that there is considerable opportunity for local economic development and renewable energy.  We have engineering and advanced manufacturing companies right here in Sun Prairie that do considerable work with clients in a variety of energy and power producing markets. 

As if to further demonstrate the importance of the private sector in renewables, Tyler invited me to attend a small group meeting at the Wisconsin Energy Institute with former UW Madison graduate Tom Werner, who is now the CEO of SunPower out in California.  Tom confirmed the competitiveness of U.S. R&D capabilities and discussed some of the newer technologies and policies that are changing how feasible solar energy can be. 

Some additional resources you might be interested in:

Sun Power Corporation Website: http://us.sunpowercorp.com/

Bio on Tom Werner from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-werner-1/

Wisconsin Energy Institute: http://energy.wisc.edu/

UW grad and SunPower CEO Tom Werner touts solar industry growth (Capital Times):
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/uw-grad-and-sunpower-ceo-tom-werner-touts-solar-industry/article_25121eec-1668-11e3-81d0-001a4bcf887a.html

Blogger's Note: Thanks to Tyler and RENEW for meeting with us, and for the invitation to hear Tom speak on campus.  Looking forward to working together to engage more companies like SunPower.

Wind Power Happy Hour/RENEW Wisconsin Networking Event Set for 9/5

We know the Wind Power Happy Hour hasn't met for a while, so we're having a family reunion of sorts! Come join us on Thursday September 5th for some networking to get caught up, and meet Mr. Tyler Huebner, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin.

Tyler Huebner has been the Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin since June 1, 2013. Huebner has worked for the Wisconsin Division of Energy Services and the U.S. Department of Energy managing weatherization assistance programs. He has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Iowa and a master's degree from Stanford University in civil and environmental engineering.  

Where: Sun Prairie City Hall, 300 E. Main St.
When: Thursday September 5th, 4:30-6 pm
With networking afterwards at Eddie's Alehouse (next to City Hall)
Presentation: Tyler Huebner, Executive Director for RENEW Wisconsin at 5:15 pm

PLEASE RSVP by Tuesday September 3rd through the linked form below:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1paEM1Y8m5esnyWWSPuQy7-knve0f8PG_FYvj3Eoifw0/viewform

Questions? Please contact Neil Stechschulte at nstechschulte@cityofsunprairie.com

City of Sun Prairie Partners With Wisconsin Wind Works at 8th Annual Green Energy Summit (City of Sun Prairie Office of Economic Development)

City Economic Development Director Neil Stechschulte helped staff the Wisconsin Wind Works table Wednesday at the 8th Annual Green Energy Summit at the Frontier Airlines Center in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Wind Works is a statewide retention & expansion program for companies in the wind industry manufacturing supply chain that was born out of a targeted growth sector of the New North. Specific initiatives have included the development of a directory of more than 300 participating companies in a statewide Supply Chain directory, coordination of advertising opportunities for participants, and hosting a booth at the annual Windpower Expo for partnering Wisconsin companies.

Stechschulte has collaborated with Jerry Murphy from the New North and Fin Flood from the Wisconsin Wind Works Alliance on networking events and marketing efforts since 2009. The City and Wisconsin Wind Works have teamed up in the past to host Wind Power Happy Hours in the Fox Cities and Milwaukee areas, as well as back in Sun Prairie. Other events in the future may be co-hosting a symposium on the wind industry supply chain here in Wisconsin, and perhaps a job fair with companies working in the renewable energy sector.

With regard to the ongoing partnership, Stechschulte said "We share a common goal, and that is to see private sector companies involved in the wind industry manufacturing supply chain thrive here in Wisconsin. There are more and more occasions when combining our efforts and helping one another out just makes sense."

Today's highlights included 1) working with several students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), 2) networking with the UW Office of Corporate Relations, RENEW Wisconsin, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), and the Wisconsin Energy Research Consortium (WORC), and 3) meeting representatives from companies including Johnson Controls, Uihlein Electric, and LEM U.S.A. Inc.

The City and Wisconsin Wind Works plan to sit down and work out a schedule for 2011 for the Wind Power Happy Hour and intend to release it sometime yet this March.

Click here for additional information on the Green Energy Summit.

Click here for additional information on Wisconsin Wind Works.

The Wind Power Happy Hour Returns to Sun Prairie for 2011

The Wind Power Happy Hour is back for our first meeting of 2011 on Thursday February 3rd from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.! We're pleased to announce that the City of Sun Prairie and the Wisconsin Wind Works Alliance will once again be working together to host these events around the State of Wisconsin.

We'll be at Cannery Grill at 315 E. Linnerud Drive in Downtown Sun Prairie once again.

Our company spotlight will be imc DataWorks. Our speaker will be Mr. Paul Nylander.

Our industry presenter will be from Wisconsin Wind Works to talk about the general state of the wind industry manufacturing supply chain in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Wind Works Alliance, and the upcoming AWEA trade show this may. Some partnering companies already participating in the Alliance may also be presenting and available for questions.

RSVP's are due back by Wed. Feb. 2nd.

Click here to RSVP:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDEzZXhqbkdnWjRqSndUVW1VdERrcGc6MQ

Contact Neil Stechschulte at the City of Sun Prairie for additional information: nstechschulte[at]cityofsunprairie.com or (608) 825-0894.