Triple alliancefor wind energy

On September 15 Dow, Astraeus Wind Energy (AWE) and MAG Industrial Automation Systems signed an agreement to collaboratively develop material-enabled automated manufacturing solutions focused on improving and enhancing the manufacture of wind turbine blade components, and finished blades, for the wind industry.
The need for United States energy independence and the search for lower impact power sources are driving demand for alternative energy solutions, like wind energy.
The board of the Michigan Strategic Fund (the agency responsible for overseeing the state's economic development strategies) finalized a 6 million dollar grant for AWE to establish operations with an initial focus on the production of spar caps, that is the backbone of a wind turbine blade. This grant will also be used by Dow, for material development, and by MAG for constructing a prototype automated system for manufacturing the spar cap.