Leading offshore wind power developers to discuss launching a new American industry

(December 7, 2011) BOSTON–The premier U.S. conference of offshore wind professionals, Green Power Conferences' Offshore Wind Power USA (http://www.offshorewindpowercongress.com), has added an additional day to its February 22-24, 2012 schedule to accommodate wind energy professionals' growing interest as the US is set to begin installing some of the first wind turbines in its territorial waters.

Ninety-nine percent of the world's offshore wind capacity can be found in Europe, but that may change quickly as federal and state agencies in the U.S. have recently developed new strategic plans and funding opportunities to meet a goal of 10 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2020. The first offshore wind projects in the U.S., such as Cape Wind off the coast of Massachusetts, are closing in on the construction phase, and many more are being planned or studied.

"This is where the industry will be talking about how to exploit the United States' enormous potential for generating power along its coastlines," said Nadim Chaudhry, Managing Director of Green Power Conferences. "Coastal states and several companies are moving fast to permit, develop and operate new renewable energy facilities that can rival some of the successful operations in Europe and elsewhere. It's becoming a very competitive industry, and the growing interest demanded that we add another day to this years' schedule."

Speakers at Offshore Wind Power USA will be discussing topics critical to moving the sector forward such as grid transmission and interconnection, financing, the manufacturing and supply chain, development, and federal and state policy.

Among the speakers booked to offer insights on the industry are:

Jim Lanard, President, Offshore Wind Development Coalition
Jim Gordon, President, Cape Wind
Laura Smith Morton, Senior Advisor, Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy
Peter Mandelstam, President and Founder, NRG Bluewater Wind
Jeff Grybowski, Chief Administrative Office and Senior Vice President of Strategy and External Affairs,Deepwater Wind
Tim Ryan, President, APEX Offshore Wind
Jeanne Fox, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities

The 3rd annual Offshore Wind Power USA conference will take place February 22-24, 2012 at the Hynes Convention Center in Bo ston, Massachusetts. The event is expected to draw over 300 high-level professionals from every corner of the offshore wind energy industry including project developers, owners and operators, utilities, federal and state policy makers, manufacturers, component suppliers, marine shipping and transportation executives, and investors. More information, including an agenda outline is available at: www.offshorewindpowercongress.com.

About Green Power Conferences
Green Power Conferences is the market leader in renewable energy conferences. Since 2003, over 15,000 delegates have attended more than 300 conferences, exhibitions, workshops and training courses providing strategic business intelligence to the renewable energy and sustainability industries. Green Power's expertise lies in producing high quality, interactive events that provide ample networking opportunities for delegates, sponsors and partners. More information and a full list of current conferences is available at: http://www.greenpowerconferences.com.