The 8th Annual Wind O&M Dallas Conference kicked off April 11 by awarding the most innovative companies in the fast-growing U.S. wind power sector.

The Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, held at the Westin Galleria in Dallas, saw ground-breaking firms from across the wind sector vote for the companies leading the way on plant performance, product service, engineering and workplace excellence.

Winners included large and small firms, all helping to make wind power the fastest-growing renewable energy in the world.

Wind Farm Owner of the Year was awarded to NextEra Energy Resources, the largest owner and operator of US wind generation facilities.

"It's really a great privilege to accept this award tonight on behalf of our 5,000 NextEra Energy Resources teammates across North America,” Anthony Conti, Regional General Manager at NextEra Energy Resources, told attendees.

"The greatest aspect of our company is how we treat our teammates. We strive to do the right thing, we treat people with respect and we are committed to excellence," he said.

The Wind Investor of the Year award went to Google, based on the company's commitment to wind energy and its contribution towards advancing the profile and value of renewable energy in the US.

Google's projects include the energy kite, a new type of wind turbine that can generate up to 50% more energy while eliminating 90% of materials.

"X, formerly Google[x] is honored to receive the Wind Investor of the Year award for our commitment to wind energy," the company said.

"At X, we tackle ideas that have the riskiness and ambition of early-stage research and approach them with the focus and speed of a start-up."

Smaller firms were also rewarded for their contribution to the rapidly-evolving wind power sector. These included Sentient Science, which won the award for Best Technological Innovation.

"Sentient is a new company...Over the last two years we now have 18,000 wind turbines under contract. It's exciting for us," Edward Wagner, Chief Digital Officer at Sentient Science, said.

The Annual Wind O&M Dallas Conference brings together the largest firms in the wind operations and maintenance sector.

Wind Energy Update