Wichita Eagle: Survey tries to gauge wind energy interest
February 11, 2010
The Kansas Dept. of Commerce, the Blue Green Alliance, the Advanced Manufacturing Institute of K-State, and the Climate and Energy Project partnered to conduct this survey of Kansas manufacturers. The survey, sent to hundreds of Kansas manufacturing firms, aimed to gauge both interest level and readiness to re-tool.
The full results of the Kansas Wind Energy Supply Chain Survey, are available at: www.kansaswindindustry.com
From the Wichita Eagle: Survey tries to gauge wind energy interest
BY DAN VOORHIS
The Wichita Eagle
Nearly 60 Kansas construction and manufacturing companies supply the wind energy industry, according to a survey sponsored by the Blue-Green Alliance.
And more than 150 more are interested in becoming suppliers.
The survey, formally unveiled at a news conference Wednesday, seeks to gauge interest in entering the wind market and find the barriers to entering the supply chain.
The survey was conducted by the Advanced Manufacturing Institute.
It is an early step in the effort to connect a wind energy industry that is expanding nationally and the hundreds of large and small manufacturers in Kansas.
The Blue-Green Alliance is a group made up of Kansas wind energy advocates, unions, universities and the state to convert Kansas’ generous wind energy potential into a wind energy manufacturing base.
“What the Blue-Green coalition is trying to do is connect the dots,” said Nancy Jackson, executive director of the Lawrence-based Climate and Energy Project.
Some facts from the survey:
* 66 percent of those currently serving the wind industry have planned expansion projects, including increasing equipment, personnel and facility size.
* Firms interested in entering the market are collecting information and developing business plans to retool their shops.
* Barriers to entry include: They don’t know specifications of projects, they don’t know whom to call, they lack capital, and they lack basic information about what’s required.
-posted by Eileen Horn, climateandenergy.org
