Small Wind Conference Coordinating Committee Members
The Small Wind Conference had its genesis in 2004 at an informal gathering of wind energy professionals - mostly awea-wind-home list members - at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association's annual fair. The present SWC coordinating committee and a few more key players saw the need for an event that would support honest, open dialogue between installers and manufacturers of home-scale wind-electric systems.
From its "cozy" first conference in 2005 with only 42 participants, the Small Wind Conference has grown into an internationally recognized and highly regarded networking opportunity for everyone who's anyone in small wind. The 2009 conference had more than 320 attendees from 11 countries, and our 2010 conference, produced by our new partner Windustry, promises to be standing room only. Manufacturers, installers, distributors, site assessors, policy makers, educators, and other wind energy professionals attend the conference to keep up to date on the industry, improve their knowledge, and share their experiences.
The Small Wind Conference coordinating committee is a group of six small wind experts who founded and have developed the conference over the last five years. The coordinating committee is responsible for the program, format, and direction of the conference.
This group includes Roy Butler, Trudy Forsyth, Jenny Heinzen, Mick Sagrillo, Brent Summerville, and Ian Woofenden.
Roy Butler
Four Winds Renewable Energy
Roy Butler is the owner of Four Winds Renewable Energy located in Arkport, NY. In 1997 he founded Four Winds and took his home and business off-grid. He has over 14 years of design and installation experience which covers grid-tie and off-grid wind electric, solar electric and solar water pumping systems.
In addition to this Roy is:
• A NABCEP Certified PV installer
• A NYSERDA eligible installer of PV and wind grid tie electric systems in NY and an eligible PV installer for the Pennsylvania Sunshine incentive program
• On the NABCEP Technical Review Committees for both PV and wind installer certification
• A board member of the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC)
• An organizer of and presenter for the national Small Wind Conference in Wisconsin, 2005 - 2009
• A wind and PV presenter for the IREC Speakers Bureau
• A small wind presenter at the national AWEA and Windustry conferences
• A workshop instructor for Small Wind Installer Training for various community colleges and organizations in NY, PA, MA, NJ and MN
• A Clean Energy Technologies Partner for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council
• A small wind and PV trainer for SUNY Greens NY through Alfred Tech in Wellsville, NY
• A technical editor for Home Power Magazine
• A presenter of more than 95 workshops and presentations on pv, wind, pv/wind hybrid systems, and solar water pumping for the North Country Energy Fair, Vermont Solar Fest, PA Renewable Energy Festival, Midwest Renewable Energy Assoc., Cornell Cooperative Extension, Endless Mountains (PA) RC&D Council, Minnesota Renewable Energy Society and others.
• Instructor for the Kid Wind “train the trainer” workshop series in NY State
• Instructor for Wind Site Assessor trainings for the NJ Clean Energy Program, Edison, NJ.
Trudy Forsyth
Senior Project Leader II, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver; B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver
Trudy has worked in the wind technology field since 1994. Since 1995, she led efforts between NWTC’s technical staff and U.S. manufacturers to design new small wind turbines and test prototypes.
She was the DOE’s Golden Field Office liaison and coordinator of NREL’s technical support for the Small Wind Turbine Field Verification Project overseeing testing of small turbines to IEC standards.
She leads the Distributed Wind program on behalf of DOE, NREL and the industry.
She has co-authored publications from IEC technical standards to the AWEA Small Wind Turbine Industry Roadmap and has presented small wind turbine technical and state policy/market information to U.S. and international audiences.
She is part of the DOE/NREL Wind Powering America team, which works to break down barriers to wind energy.
Trudy serves on the National Organizing Committee for ASES 2007 and 2008, the Small Wind Certification Council, the Women of Wind Energy steering committee and has been selected as the secretary for the 3rd revision of the international small wind standard, 61400-2.
She received an NREL Staff Award in 2003 for Outstanding Community/Professional Service and an IREC Special Recognition Award in October 2005 for her leadership and efforts to promote the use of renewable energy.
Jenny Heinzen
Lead Instructor, Wind Energy Technology Program Lakeshore Technical College
Jenny is a master electrician and lead instructor of the Wind Energy Technology program at Lakeshore Technical College (LTC) in Wisconsin.
Besides wind, she also teaches electrical code classes, farmstead wiring (a.k.a. stray voltage), and practical wiring techniques.
In the summer months, Jenny is an instructor for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), teaching wind and photovoltaic systems workshops. When she is not climbing towers or teaching, Jenny enjoys riding her Harley.
She holds a bachelors degree in Career & Technical Education from UW-Stout and is currently a graduate student at UW-Green Bay, writing her thesis on “wind turbine syndrome.”
Jenny is an active member of many renewable energy and environmental organizations, including:
• RENEW Wisconsin – Board of Directors, President
• Wisconsin Distributed Resources Collaborative (WIDRC) – Advisory Committee
• Midwest Rural Energy Council (MREC) – Advisory Committee
• Wisconsin Wind Working Group
• Wind for Wisconsin
• Manitowoc Sustainability Committee – Secretary
• Maywood Environmental Park, Sheboygan – Advisory Board
Mick Sagrillo
Sagrillo Power & Light
Photo courtesy of Dan Chiras
Mick Sagrillo has worked with small wind for over 28 years. Current professional involvement includes:
• Wind Energy Specialist for Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy
• Co-Chair of the NABCEP Wind Technical Committee
• Small Wind Certification Council, Board of Directors
• Lead organizer of the Small Wind Conference for the first five years
• Planned, organized, and presented at hundreds of wind and wind installation workshops over the past 23 years, both nationally and internationally
• Conference presenter at dozens of wind and renewable energy conferences
• Developed the Wind Site Assessor Training program for Focus on Energy and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association
• Columnist for the American Wind Energy Association’s Windletter, the American Solar Energy Associations Solar Today Magazine, and author of hundreds of articles for various publications, including Home Power Magazine.
• Co-author of the book, Power from the Wind, with Dan Chiras and Ian Woofenden.
• RENEW Wisconsin, member of the Board of Directors for the past 20 years
• MREA, member of the Board of Directors and president for the past 19 years
• Recipient of the first Small Wind Advocacy Award, by the Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America in conjunction with the American Wind Energy Association’s Windpower 2005 Conference, as well as many other awards and recognitions.
Brent Summerville PE
Technical Director, Small Wind Certification Council
Brent Summerville is a licensed professional engineer in the State of North Carolina with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and a Masters in Appropriate Technology from Appalachian State University (ASU).
He gained experience with small wind turbines while serving as the manager of the ASU Small Wind Research & Demonstration Site on Beech Mountain.
He received an award in 2009 from the Wind Powering America Program for serving as an ‘Outstanding Young Wind Advocate’.
He has co-authored small wind publications for Home Power magazine and presented at the annual AWEA Windpower conference, the annual Small Wind Conference in Wisconsin, and the Small Wind Testing workshop at NREL.
Brent serves on the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Small Wind Committee, Small Wind Conference Coordinating Committee, the North Carolina Wind Working Group, session planning committees for the AWEA Windpower and Small Wind conferences, the international maintenance team for IEC 61400-2, and two UL Standard Technical Panels (STPs).
He leads regional workshops and presentations on wind energy, solar energy and microhydro power.
Brent stays in touch with real technology by designing, engineering, installing and maintaining numerous local renewable energy systems.
Brent now serves as the Technical Director of the Small Wind Certification Council.
Ian Woofenden
Senior Editor, Home Power magazine
Ian Woofenden has lived off-grid with wind electricity, solar electricity, solar hot water, and wood heat on an island in the Pacific Northwest for the last 28 years, where he raised his large family, ran multiple businesses, and now focuses on educational work in the renewable energy industry.
His roles in the industry are:
• Senior editor for Home Power magazine since 1998, where he writes about wind electricity and other renewable energy topics, and works with authors and readers.
• Northwest & Costa Rica Coordinator for Solar Energy International since 1996, where he pioneered programs in renewable energy for the Northwest U.S. and Costa Rica.
• Wind electricity instructor for Solar Energy International, Cape & Islands Self Reliance, and other non-profit and private institutions.
• Occasional member of the Brooks Solar wind installation team, doing installations of Bergey Excel machines in eastern Washington since 2001. Also occasional member of the Whidbey Sun & Wind wind installation team.
• Co-author of Power from the Wind by Dan Chiras, and author of Wind Power for Dummies.
• Independent consultant and salesperson for residential and small commercial renewable energy systems.
