Summary

Extensive knowledge of renewable energy. Skilled speaker and technical writer.

Work Experience

Present

Write for and maintain a web site, wind-works.org, noted for its wide ranging content and astute analysis of renewable energy, energy policy, and electric vehicles.

2003-Present

Almost single-handedly launched a campaign for Advanced Renewable Tariffs (electricity feed laws) in North America. The campaign grew into a continent-wide grassroots movement that put renewable energy feed-in tariffs on the political agenda in Canada and the United States.

2009

Senior Policy Analyst: Green Energy Act Alliance (GEAA). Special advisor to GEAA on the development of Ontario’s feed-in tariff program and participated in all public stakeholder engagement workshops held by the Ontario Power Authority and submitted a detailed proposal for changes and additions to Ontario’s groundbreaking feed-in tariff policy.

2007

Senior Policy Analyst: Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. Analyzed deficiencies in Ontario’s Standard Offer Contract (SOC) program and organized, managed, and wrote joint report by OSEA and the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative on revisions to Ontario’s SOC Program.

2004

Acting Executive Director: Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. Created, managed, and implemented a provincial campaign for Advanced Renewable Tariffs which sought to adapt electricity feed laws to the North American market and was instrumental in placing the European concept on the political agenda in Ontario. Became the public face for OSEA and its mission, raising the NGO’s visibility provincially, nationally, and internationally. Singled out on the floor of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for significantly contributing to energy policy in Ontario and Canada.

1985 to 2004

Paul Gipe & Associates: Principal. Firm specialized in evaluating wind turbine technology and reporting on developments in the wind industry. Clients included ANZSES, APROMA, ASES, AusWEA, AWEA, BWEA, BWE, CanWea, DGW, EECA, GEO, KWEA, OSEA, NASA, NREL, NZWEA, USDOE, WWEA, Aerovironment, the Great Lakes Renewable Resources Institute, the Izaak Walton League, Microsoft, the Minnesota Project, NRG Systems, the Rahus Insitute, SeaWest, SEIO/REIO, the Sierra Club, and Zond Systems. From1985 to1992 the West Coast representative for the American Wind Energy Association and from 1986 to 1995 the Executive Director of the Kern Wind Energy Association.

1984 to 1985

Zond Systems: Director of Corporate Communications. Prepared media kit (noted by many journalists for its thoroughness); responded to investor, public and media inquiries; drafted reports to investors; analyzed wind turbine and partnership performance; analyzed competitive products, and provided technical support.

1980 to 1984

Center for Alternative Resources: Director. Managed non-profit corporation devoted to the development of alternative energy resources. Initiated innovative anemometer loan program under grants from the Evergreen Fund and the U.S. Department of Energy.

1976 to 1984

Paul Gipe & Associates: Principal. Provided full range of technical services with an emphasis on technical writing, alternative energy development, and environmental impact analysis. Provided seminars, workshops, and training aids. Provided turnkey installation of wind turbines.

1973 to 1976

Gannett, Fleming, Corddry, and Carpenter, Inc.: Environmental Scientist. Member of interdisciplinary team preparing environmental impact statements. Assisted in the collection and analysis of meteorological, air quality, and ambient noise data, and in the modeling of future air quality and noise. Wrote several technical reports on the findings of air quality and noise studies.

1971 to 1973

Environmental Action Committee, Ball State Student Association: Chairman. Organized and directed student involvement in environmental issues.

1968 to 1970

General Motors Corporation: Cooperative Engineering Student. Alternated between six-week work periods and six-week periods at General Motors Institute of Technology. Performed research on industrial problems, e.g. operator safety.

Professional Presentations

Presented papers or lectured before professional meetings of the American Wind Energy Association, Irish Wind Energy Association, American Solar Energy Society, American Society of Civil Engineers, Energy Technology Conference, British Wind Energy Association, California Wind Energy Association, European Wind Energy Association, Indian Solar Energy Society, Hannover Messe, New Zealand Wind Energy Association, Australia-New Zealand Solar Energy Society, Asia-Pacific Wind Energy Centre, Nordvestjysk Folkecenter for Vedvarende Energi, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and many others.

Publications

Books

Wind Energy for the Rest of Us: A Comprehensive Guide to Wind Power and How to Use It, Wind-Works.org, 2016, ISBN 978-0-9974518-1-8.

Wind Energy Basics: A Guide to Home- and Community-scale Wind Energy Systems, Chelsea Green, 2009, ISBN 978-1-60358-030-4.

Le Grand Livre de l’Éolien, Observ’ER, 2007, ISBN: 2-913620-39-6.

Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm, and Business, Chelsea Green, 496 pp, 2004, ISBN 1-931498-14-8.

Elettricità dal Vento, Franco Muzzio Editore, 88 pp, 2002, 88-7413-016-3.

Wind Power in View: Energy Landscapes in a Crowded World, Academic Press, co-editor and contributor of chapter on aesthetic design, 234 pp, 2002, ISBN 0-12-546334-0.

Energía Eólica Práctica, Progensa, 191 pp, 2000, ISBN 84-86505-88-7.

Wind Energy Basics, Chelsea Green, 122 pp, 1999, ISBN 1-890132-07-1.

Guide de L’Énergie Éolienne: a chapter on worldwide wind development, Paris, Collection Études et Filières, 161 pp, 1998, ISBN 2-89481-004-0.

Glossary of Wind Energy Terms, Forlaget Vistoft, 1997.

Wind Energy Comes of Age; John Wiley & Sons, 532 pp, 1995, ISBN 0-471-10924-X. Part of John Wiley & Sons’ prestigious series on sustainable design. The series includes the award-winning Gray World, Green Heart: Technology, Nature and the Sustainable Landscape by Robert Thayer and Design with Nature by renowned landscape architect Ian McHarg. Wind Energy Comes of Age was selected by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, for its list of outstanding academic books in 1995.

Wind Energy International 2005-2006: Chapter on U.S. wind development and chapter on small wind turbine technology, World Wind Energy Association (Ed.), 2005.

Solar Living Source Book, 12th Edition; Chapter entitled “Harvesting Energy: Wind Power,” Real Goods Trading Co. and New Society Publishers, 2005, ISBN 0-916571-05-X.

Renewable Energy: Prospects for Implementation: Chapter 4, “Wind Energy–Experience from California and Denmark,” Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, 1993.

Wind Power for Home & Business, 419 pp, Chelsea Green, 1993, ISBN 0-930031-64-4.

Wind Turbine Technology, Volume I: Chapter 2, “Current Wind Turbine Systems and Applications,” for NASA under contract to the Department of Energy and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in collaboration with R. Lynette Associates, 1994.

Wind Energy: How To Use It; 416 pp, Stackpole Books, 1983.

Surface Mining, Energy, and the Environment: Chapters 1, 2, and 3, 228 pp, ENACT, Ball State University, 1974.

Magazine Articles

Published in popular, trade, and scientific press including DEWI Magazin, North American Windpower, Pacific Ecologist, Independent Energy Magazine, Popular Science, Sierra (Sierra Club), Mother Earth News, Solar Age, Alternative Sources of Energy, Wind Energy Weekly, Windpower Monthly, Energy Policy, Public Utilities Fortnightly, Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy World, Grist, Systèmes Solaires, and Leonardo (The Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology). Was a contributing editor to WindStats for many years.

Technical Reports

Prepared numerous technical studies including reports on

• a 2011 review of Ontario Feed-in Tariff policy,
• moving Ontario toward Advanced Renewable Tariffs,
• implementation of Ontario’s Standard Offer Program,
• renewable energy policy mechanisms for the government of New Zealand,
• a proposed pilot program for Standard Offer Contracts in Ontario,
• wind energy for Ontario landowners,
• the wind energy potential of Ontario for the David Suzuki Foundation,
• the performance of small wind turbines,
• the noise emissions of small wind turbines,
• air quality and noise impacts from highway construction,
• geohydrologic impacts from surface mining, solution mining, and coal gasification and liquefaction,
• indirect sources of water pollution in the Black Hills,
• integration of wind turbines into an isolated electrical network,
• assessment of wind resources in Pennsylvania,
• operation and performance of innovative anemometer loan program,
• maturation of the wind industry, and
• repowering the California wind industry.

Photography

Photographs have appeared (for hire) in Popular Science, Sierra, Solar Age, Alternative Sources of Energy, L’Espresso, Air & Space Smithsonian, Business Week, and Wind Power Monthly. Photographs have also been purchased by Addison-Wesley for use in physics textbooks, by the European Community and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for publications on wind energy, by Friends of the Earth (UK) for brochures, by the Union of Concerned Scientists for use on posters, and by the World Wildlife Fund for use on the web.

Public Speaking Experience

Presented lectures before groups of all sizes from all walks of life including

• international conferences and community groups too numerous to mention,
• class on solar energy at West Texas State University (instructor),
• numerous six-hour seminars for colleges, universities, and trade associations in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, and
• 10-minute presentation for political demonstration of 10,000 (first anniversary of Three Mile Island).

Achievements & Recognition

• Selected as a Distinguished Alumnus from Ball State University’s Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department on the occasion of their 50th anniversary.
• Named to the prestigious Energy Watch Group
• Received the Long Trail Award from the Kern-Kaweah Chapter of the Sierra Club in 2015
• Received the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Small Wind Conference in 2013
• Opening presentation for Husum Wind 2012 (the world’s largest and oldest wind energy exhibition)
• Received the Individual Leadership Award for 2009 by the Canadian Wind Energy Association in recognition of his work on Ontario’s groundbreaking system of feed-in tariffs
• Presented the World Wind Energy Award for 2008 by the World Wind Energy Association
• Credited as the architect of Ontario’s Standard Offer Contract Program
• Internationally recognized in the field of wind energy.
• Wind Energy Comes of Age used for course material by Energy Resources Group, University of California at Berkeley
• “Gipe Power Law” cited by NASA researchers
• Awarded the Sierra Club Cup by the Kern-Kaweah Chapter for outstanding service, the chapter’s highest honor, in 2005
• Named a Pioneer in Renewable Energy by the World Renewable Energy Congress, one of the group’s highest honors, in 1998
• Named the wind industry’s Man of the Year by the American Wind Energy Association, the group’s highest honor, in 1988
• Wrote and recorded script that won the 1993 Travelers Information Message Writing Award for “Interpretive Description” from the National Travelers Information Radio Exchange
• Developed and installed a pioneering network of highway advisory radio stations in California
• Designed, developed, and implemented a pioneering anemometer loan program in Pennsylvania under contract to the U.S. Department of Energy.
• Invited to the White House in 1979 by President Carter to participate in signing ceremonies for the Surface Mining Act
• Participated in a successful citizen-led effort to ban the sale of phosphate detergents in Indiana in 1972-1973.

Education

Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana, 9/71 to 5/73. B.S. in Natural Resources. Selected as the Natural Resources Department’s Outstanding Student for 1972-73.

General Motors Institute of Technology, Flint, Michigan, 6/68 to 9/70. Mechanical Engineering program (no degree).

University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 6/67 to 8/67. National Science Foundation summer training program in Field Ecology.