SEWC Blog
Stories That Are Shaping the Future of Wind
Bringing Wind Energy Conversations to the Mississippi Delta
On September 15, the Southeastern Wind Coalition (SEWC) joined Sunflower County Economic Development to host Wind Energy in the Delta: A Community Conversation at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi. The event brought together 25 community members, including farmers, landowners, agricultural aviators, and local officials from Sunflower County and surrounding communities for an open conversation about wind energy and what development could mean for the Mississippi Delta.
What I Learned Standing Under a Wind Turbine
In August, the Southeastern Wind Coalition hosted a tour at the Timbermill Wind Farm in Edenton, NC. The tour provided direct insight into how the project moved from construction to operation, what the day-to-day operations and maintenance look like today, and the economic impact the project has brought to Chowan County.
Louisiana’s Future in Wind: What a Virginia Study Tour Taught Us About Building a Wind Supply Chain
In August, the Southeastern Wind Coalition (SEWC) and the Center for Planning Excellence brought Louisiana leaders to Virginia Beach to participate in a series of wind tours hosted by SEWC and the Conservative Energy Network.
Networking at Sea
In August, the Southeastern Wind Coalition and Conservative Energy Network hosted a series of educational tours across Virginia and North Carolina. The tours brought together policymakers, partners, and industry leaders from across the Southeast, including our Louisiana team, who joined to explore opportunities for their state.
Setbacks 101: What Reasonable Siting Rules Look Like for Arkansas
Arkansas has some of the best wind resources and one of the most active wind project pipelines in the Southeast. As more counties work to draft wind ordinances and Arkansas implements Act 945, more questions are being asked about a critical piece of wind regulation: setbacks.
Faces of Wind: Where Wind Meets Community
Meet Tyler. If you've ever visited the Timbermill Wind Farm in Chowan County, North Carolina, chances are you've met the person behind the hard hat and warm welcome.
No Silver Bullet, No Single Fuel: What Texas Can Teach the Carolinas About Energy Resilience
With the impacts of Winter Storm Fern in recent memory and hurricane season fast approaching, southeastern states are looking to strengthen the grid and keep utility bills affordable. Meanwhile, utilities across the Carolinas are expecting a sharp increase in energy demand driven by economic and population growth and electrification. Duke Energy, which serves customers in both Carolinas, forecasts demand growth at eight times the pace of the prior 15 years.
The Powering Louisiana Lunch and Learn Series: Bringing Energy Education to the Louisiana State Capitol
Over the last two years, Louisiana has secured $100 billion in investments from economic development projects in energy-intensive industries. The projected load growth from data centers and advanced manufacturing plants, and associated interest in developing new power generation, has made regulating new energy technologies an increasingly prominent focus for Louisiana’s lawmakers over recent legislative sessions.
Lessons from Madrid: A View of the Global Wind Industry
Last week, I was invited by CPEX Executive Director Camille Manning Broome to travel to Madrid, Spain, for Wind Europe 2026, one of the world's largest wind energy conferences and trade shows. For someone new to working in wind energy, to say it was eye-opening would be an understatement.
Insights from the Powering Louisiana Forum: What It Means for Wind Energy
For the past several years, SEWC has partnered with GNO Inc. to host Louisiana Wind Energy Week (LAWEW), a conference that brings together wind energy developers, advocates, and supply chain companies to advance the wind industry in Louisiana.
Faces of Wind: Turning Turbine Blades into Tomorrow’s Infrastructure with Neocycling
Wind energy should be sustainable from start to finish. Through its proprietary ECOCYCLING process, NEOCYCLING has developed a way to transform retired turbine blades into high-value materials used in concrete and asphalt. With decades of success in Europe, the company is now bringing that experience and technology to the United States.
Faces of Wind: Building the Workforce Behind Arkansas’s Energy Future
As Arkansas’s energy sector continues to evolve, building a skilled, adaptable workforce will be essential to meeting the future demand and supporting long-term economic growth.
From the Room Where It Happens: SEWC at MISO Board Week
Last week, I sat in a New Orleans conference room surrounded by transmission owners, renewable energy developers, utility executives, consumer advocates, environmental groups, and leadership of one of the country's largest grid operators — all of them discussing how to build an electric grid that works for everyone. It was my first time attending MISO Board Week, and I left convinced that this is a unique, multistakeholder process that more people need to know exists.
Wind Energy in Arkansas: Impacts of the 2025 Wind Energy Development Act and Future Outlook
Of the Southeastern states, Arkansas has some of the greatest wind energy potential and the most robust pipeline of proposed land-based wind projects.
How Onshore Wind is Strengthening Rural Economies & Family Legacies in North Carolina
On a windy morning in November 2025, I ventured to northeastern North Carolina to join Apex Clean Energy and partners to celebrate the presentation of a nearly $750,000 property tax payment to Chowan County officials. After nine years of planning and outreach, it was extraordinary to be present for the first of many annual payments that will make Timbermill Wind the county’s single largest taxpayer, equaling more in property taxes this year than last year’s top nine taxpayers combined.
Celebrating Impact and Looking Ahead: SEWC’s 2025 Annual Report
As we reflect on 2025, we’d like to thank our members, partners, and funders for their continued support. Because of you, SEWC has made meaningful progress this year in advancing our mission and strengthening our community.
We’re excited to share our 2025 Annual Report, which highlights key accomplishments from the past year and outlines our goals and priorities for the year ahead. Inside the report, you’ll find impact highlights, details about our work, and a look at how your support helps drive lasting change.
Reflections from the 2025 Onshore Wind Summit
With five new onshore wind projects operating or under construction in the Southeast over the last couple of years, it was time to chart a path for the next tranche of wind. Last week, the Southeastern Wind Coalition brought together utilities, developers, service providers, researchers, and NGOs for our 2025 Onshore Wind Summit in Atlanta. Over two days of candid conversations about how we can continue to work together to make wind a vital part of the region’s energy mix, a powerful message emerged: building great wind projects in the Southeast isn't easy, but together we are more than capable of delivering them. The most challenging work is the work that creates the most value—for our region's energy security, for rural landowners and communities, and for meeting the energy demands of a more prosperous future.
Faces of Wind: Will Bransom, President of the Norfolk Anglers Club
Will Bransom spent his early years as an angler, but he didn’t fall in love with saltwater fishing until after the Navy assigned him to the Hampton Roads area in 1996. After being introduced to fishing for rockfish along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, this quickly became one of his passions.
Built in Louisiana, Bound for New York: Offshore Wind Is Our Next Big Opportunity
Governor Landry said it best at last week’s vessel christening: the innovation and expertise driving offshore energy technology around the world is being built in South Louisiana. “The technology, the ingenuity, the ability to tackle the seas, to be able to put structure in the oceans, not only in the Gulf of America, but around the world, has been complemented, has been innovated right here.” As a Louisiana native, I’m incredibly proud that our state built one of the new U.S.-flagged vessels commissioned to support offshore wind projects, part of a nearly 2 billion dollar investment that's strengthening America's offshore energy future.
What I Learned at SEWC: A Year of Growth in Wind Energy Communications
Last May, while finishing up my senior year at Western Kentucky University, I was on the hunt to secure a flexible, part-time internship that would let me grow professionally while wrapping up school. That’s when I came across Southeastern Wind Coalition’s post for a Social Media and Communications Intern. I prepared my application and nervously hit send. As a public relations major with a minor in nonprofit administration, my coursework focused on topics like grant writing and graphic design, not renewable energy. But SEWC’s mission resonated with me, and I was eager to learn, so I applied.