Wind Empowerment

Association for the development of locally-built small wind turbines for sustainable rural electrification


Wind Empowerment is a global association for the development of locally-manufactured small wind turbines (SWTs) for sustainable rural electrification. It aims to strengthen the capacity of its members through collaboration and knowledge exchange to promote and support small wind technology as a viable solution for rural electrification.

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Wind Empowerment 2018 International Conference: WEIndia2018

News from WISIONS posted on June 13th, 2018
The 4th Wind Empowerment International Conference, "WEIndia2018: Bringing Small Wind Turbines up to Scale", will take place in Kayathar, India from 1 - 14 December 2018. If you would like to participate, please register by 30 June (if you are applying for a travel scholarship) or by 31 August (if you do not require a travel scholarship).Read moreMinimize

The Wind Empowerment network invites you to apply for the 4th International Conference WEIndia2018.

The deadline for applications is 30 June (if you are applying for a travel scholarship) or 31 August (if you do not require a travel scholarship).

Sign-up form for WEIndia2018: "Bringing Small Wind Turbines Up To Scale"

This year’s conference is jointly organised by Wind Empowerment and the National Institute for Wind Energy (NIWE), India. It will be longer than previous conferences, spanning approximately two weeks: one week of training sessions and one week for the conference programme.

NIWE is offering full travel and conference scholarships to a limited number of international applicants who wish to participate in a one-month long course related to small wind rural electrification, which will include attendance at the WEIndia2018 conference.

The eligibility criteria for applying to NIWE’s scholarship are the following:

  • Applicants must be available to join the two-week pre-conference workshop events, as well as the two-week conference. This means being in India for one month, from 15 November - 15 December 2018
  • Applicants must have nationality from one of the eligible countries
  • Applicants must have a working knowledge of English sufficient to follow the course

Wind Empowerment will try to provide scholarships (at least partial) to participants who do not fulfill the prerequisites above. However, if you are eligible and able to join the one-month course and conference events, do not miss this chance to apply. Send an email to windempowerment.group@gmail.com.

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Upcoming Events

The Wind Empowerment 2019-2020 Webinar series will begin soon! Past webinars are available on WE's YouTube channeland on their website.


Introduction

SWTs can offer viable off-grid power solutions where strong wind resources (4–7m/s and higher) are available and evenly distributed throughout the year, or in regions where the combination of small wind technology and solar PV can provide a reliable power supply.

Wind Empowerment was founded in 2011 at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal. The aim was to bridge the geographical gap between its members by providing a global platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. It has since consolidated and now represents dozens of member organisations, consisting of wind turbine manufacturers, NGOs, universities, social enterprises, cooperatives, training centres, as well as over 1,000 individual members across the world.



Mission & Goals 

Wind Empowerment supports the development of locally-built wind turbines for sustainable rural electrification by strengthening the capacity of its members globally through:

  • Building and sharing financial and human resource connections
  • Performing joint technical research, sharing technical information and collaborating on key vendor relationships
  • Strengthening understanding of business and social models for the effective implementation of small wind technology
  • Managing projects, offering consultancy services and developing/distributing products in line with the association’s guiding principles

Activities

Wind Empowerment acts as both a central knowledge bank and a facilitator of direct connections between its members (currently 39 organisations).

Conference

Wind Empowerment conferences take place every 2 years and are key in building and maintaining the relationships between individuals and organisations that form the basis of the network.

The most recent conference took place in Kayathar and Chennai, India in December 2018. You can find all the outcomes on on Wind Empowerment's Facebook page and on this detailed Review.

The previous conference took place from in November 2016 at two different venues in Patagonia, Argentina: WEPatagonia2016.


Online Platform
The webpage of Wind Empowerment is a rich source of information and serves as an exchange platform for the members, as well as for other people interested in the network and the technology. It covers not only recent news and event information, but also contains a library of resources. In addition, lively dialogue takes place in the discussion forum and the webinars offer background information on relevant current topics.

Working Groups
Six Working Groups (WGs) have been set up to actively address the key barriers facing the development of small wind technology for rural development:

In 2016 all six working groups started to develop so-called kick-starter projects to ensure intensive collaboration within clear targets..

Coordination & Support

Wind Empowerment is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is supported by several organisations, one of which is WISIONS.

The coordinator is Jessica Rivas (left).