Siemens to open Colo. wind turbine R&D center | Planetary Gear: a CNET blog on mechanical engineering technology - CNET News.com

The energy sector of the German company made the announcement on Tuesday in Houston, Texas, at Windpower 2008, the American Wind Energy Association's annual conference.

Siemens to open Colo. wind turbine R&D center | Planetary Gear: a CNET blog on mechanical engineering technology - CNET News.com

As part of the plan, Siemens Energy will collaborate with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to install a Siemens 2.3-megawatt (MW) wind turbine at the National Wind Technology Center located just outside of Boulder.

With the announcement timed for just before the last of the presidential primaries, this marks a significant development for wind energy in the US. Germany is the global leader in wind energy development, in my opinion, the location at NREL signals a new era of international cooperation in alternative technologies and a pull back in mindless dedication to industrial era energy production technologies that has been the norm for the current administration.

Under the "you never know" or is is "wishful thinking" department, because of the misguided policies that have lead to a deterioration of USD value against the Euro it will be more profitable to build the wind turbines in the US to meet the demand in Europe. The added market thus enhancing the pace of change in the US.