Press Release



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 12, 2011

CONTACT
Matt Schwartz
646.695.7047
mschwartz@rosengrouppr.com



Media Advisory: Pre-straw poll media reception to honor Gov. Branstad, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday

Launched wind energy revolution now making 20 percent of Iowa’s electricity

All credentialed media are invited to a reception Friday night before the Iowa straw poll in honor of Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, whose policies in 1983 sparked the industry that now makes 20 percent of Iowa's electricity from wind.

 

Matt Strawn, chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, will join Branstad and Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, at the wind power party, from 5:30 to 7:30 in the Iowa State Center's Scheman Building. An evening of hors d'oeuvres, drinks, music, and fun wind-related activities is planned.

 

Nearby, "candidates' row" has been decorated by a 130-foot wind turbine blade made in Newton, Iowa. Candidates and straw poll voters are signing their names to the blade, as Branstad will do Saturday morning at 10 am.

 

Branstad and Gov. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island recently led 24 governors in a letter seeking six national policies to sustain jobs, homegrown energy, and economic development from wind power, such as Iowa has enjoyed. (Full text is available at governorswindenergycoalition.org.)

 

Other state Republicans who have led Iowa's wind energy revolution include Sen. Charles Grassley, father of the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy, which for several years has helped the wind energy industry grow with stable tax rates.

 

WHO:         Denise Bode, CEO, American Wind Energy Association

                  The Honorable Terry Branstad,Governor of Iowa (R)

                  Harold Prior, Executive Director, Iowa Wind Energy Association

                  Dave Drescher, Exelon

                  Shane Sterling, Availon

                  Steve Lockard, TPI Composites

                  Mark Parriot, TPI Composites

                  Jeff Bishop, EDP Renewables

 

WHEN:        Friday, August 12, 2011

                   5:30 – 7:30pm

 

WHERE:       Scheman Building

                    Iowa State Center, Ames, IA




AWEA is the national trade association of America's wind industry, with 1,300 member companies, including global leaders in wind power and energy development, wind turbine manufacturing, component and service suppliers, and the world's largest wind power trade show, the WINDPOWER Conference & Exhibition, which takes place next in Las Vegas, NV, May 5-8, 2014. AWEA is the voice of wind energy in the U.S., promoting renewable energy to power a cleaner, stronger America. Look up information on wind energy at the AWEA website. Find insight on industry issues at AWEA's blog Into the Wind. Join AWEA on Facebook. Follow AWEA on Twitter.