WINDPOWER 2012 first North American event to be labelled WindMade

"Wind power already provides approximately 20 percent of electricity in places like Iowa and South Dakota-and now, thanks to WindMade, WINDPOWER 2012 will be 100 percent wind powered," said Denise Bode, AWEA's CEO. "The WindMade label is an important development for our industry, and highlighting it at WINDPOWER is one way to show how the clean, affordable energy source that our industry produces is generating both electricity and jobs today for America."

For an event to garner the WindMade label, it needs to procure 100 percent of its electricity footprint from wind power. The electricity associated with WINDPOWER 2012 and powered by wind includes the event preparations at the AWEA offices, the power usage at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, and electricity used at the social events, including conference receptions and dinners.

"We are delighted to see AWEA use the WindMade label for their flagship event," said Henrik Kuffner, WindMade's CEO. "Procuring wind power for a convention as large as WINDPOWER 2012 will make a real difference to its overall environmental impact, and WindMade is proud to provide a tool to communicate this commitment in a meaningful way to the visitors."

In order to cover 100 percent of the electricity used for WINDPOWER 2012, AWEA has committed to procuring an equivalent amount of Green-E labelled Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). This commitment is compliant with the requirements set out in WindMade's 'Events Standard'.

The Events Standard was developed following strong demand from conference organisers wishing to differentiate their events by showing their commitment to wind power. Under the WindMade Technical Standard, any kind of event could be labelled - from a theatre production to a trade fair, from a big sports event to a small conference.

For more information on the WindMade initiative or the Events Label, see www.windmade.org or contact info@windmade.org.

Members of the press can register for WINDPOWER 2012 Conference and Exhibition by contacting mediapass@awea.org.

AWEA is a national trade association representing wind power project developers, equipment suppliers, services providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers, and others involved in the wind industry. In addition, AWEA represents hundreds of wind energy advocates from around the world.

With over 2,400 members & advocates, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is the hub of the wind energy industry.

WINDPOWER 2012 Conference & Exhibition will take place from 3-6 June 2012 in Atlanta. It is AWEA's annual flagship event, and the focal point for wind professionals to network with and learn from industry leaders and experts, and to discover the latest
in industry products and services.

WindMade™ is the world's first global consumer label for companies, events and products using wind power. The label is managed by the WindMade non-profit organisation, dedicated to accelerating the adoption of renewable energy by improving companies' ability to communicate their wind energy investments to their stakeholders.

WindMade™ will strive to achieve this by increasing transparency of corporate investments in wind energy, by educating citizens on the implications of using different energy sources, and by empowering consumers to favour corporations who make a real contribution to delivering new wind energy.

The WindMade™ Standard for Events can be found in Appendix C of the WindMade Company Standard.