September 8-9, 2010
Omni Downtown
Austin, Texas
Join us for the first annual Best Practices in Wind Energy Conference on September 8th and 9th, 2010 at the Omni Hotel in downtown Austin, Texas. This will be a gathering of influential stakeholders from industry, education, and legislature. The conference is designed to provide attendees with up-to-date information on the state of the wind energy industry in Texas and around the globe, including:
- innovative technologies and practices,
- new approaches to wind energy education,
- necessary skill sets,
- and career pathways for employment in the wind energy industry.
Keynote Speakers
John D. White, Managing Director of The Wind Alliance
John D. White is the Managing Director of The Wind Alliance. Mr. White is also a partner with Murphree Venture Partners in Houston. He is a co-founder and currently serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO of Standard Renewable Energy Group, LLC (SREG).
Mr. White has more than 30 years of legal experience in a variety of industry sectors, with a focus on the energy sector. His legal career includes services as an Air Force Judge Advocate, an in-house position with Texaco, Inc., and more than 25 years of private practice in Houston. From 2003-2009, Mr. White was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System. He was Chairman of the Board from 2005-2007 and Vice Chairman from 2007-2009.
Mr. White is a board member of the Houston Technology Center, The Greater Houston Partnership, and the Association for Community Broadcasting, and is Chairman of the Board of the Ed Rachal Foundation. He received his degree in political science from Texas A&M University and his law degree from the University of Texas, School of Law.
Jerry Patterson, Texas Land Commissioner
Born in Houston, Texas on November 15, 1946 Jerry Patterson graduated from Texas A&M, Class of 1969 and receiving his commission in the United States Marine Corps, Patterson volunteered for duty in Vietnam in 1972 and was later designated as a Naval Flight Officer and served in Marine fighter squadrons until his retirement from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1993.
Five consecutive generations of Patterson’s family have served our nation in time of war. As state senator for District 11 (Harris, Galveston, Brazoria), Patterson’s major legislative successes include passage of the historic concealed handgun law, a constitutional amendment allowing home equity lending, the state coastal management plan and the creation of the Texas State Veterans Home Program. A tireless advocate for his fellow veterans, he chaired the first Veterans Affairs committee in the Texas Senate.
E. Ian Baring-Gould, Senior Research Supervisor, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Wind Technology Center Deployment & Industrial Partnerships
E. Ian Baring-Gould graduated with a MSME from the University of Massachusetts Renewable Energy Research Laboratory in 1995 and started working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States. Ian’s work at NREL has focused in three primary areas; applications engineering for RE technologies, assistance in RE uses and educational outreach for renewable energy technologies, primarily wind.
His applications work concentrates on innovative uses of RE, primarily the modeling, testing and monitoring of small power systems, end use applications and large diesel plant retrofit concepts. International technical assistance has focused in energy development for rural populations including the design, analysis and implementation of remote power systems, primarily through NREL’s Energy and Environmental, International Programs Office. Educational outreach, including field technical assistance has focused in energy development for rural populations and school outreach programs, such as the Wind for Schools program, both domestically and internationally. Ian also sits on the International Energy Agency research taskforce looking at wind turbine operation in cold climates and is an editor for Wind Engineering. Ian has authored or co-authored over 60 publications on wind energy and wind diesel power systems. Ian is currently leads NREL’s wind technology deployment team, focusing on assisting organizations deploy wind technologies and addressing barriers to the implementation of wind energy through programs like DOE’s Wind Powering America Project.
