Wind energy advocates are prepping for a regional wind power conference in Charlotte next week that's set to draw several hundred participants from Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas to discuss an endless natural resource that has so far failed to yield benefits.

The 2012 Southeastern Costal Wind Conference is sponsored by a wide range of interests, including Duke Energy, Clemson University's Wind Turbine Drivetrain Testing Facility, and Stevens Towning Co. (a marine transportation service that would presumably benefit from offshore wind farm development).

North Carolina is considered a premier state for wind development because of a state mandate to commit to renewable resources and some of the best wind resources along the East Coast.

Home Depot is now selling personal wind turbines at select stores in Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and California.

A state task force is scheduled to meet in Raleigh on Wednesday to advance a topic that can touch raw nerves: offshore wind power.

It will be the second public hearing on the subject that will ultimately lead to a federal designation of Atlantic Ocean waters that are suitable for wind farm development. The first hearing was held in Wilmington in January.

One of the subjects to be addressed at the all-day meeting in the Crabtree Raleigh Marriott hotel is the ocean areas that would conflict with flight patters and other military operations.

Once those areas are designated off-limits, the state task force for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement will focus on other restrictions: fishing, environmental, tourism, etc.

Renewable sources such as solar and wind could supply up to 80 percent of the world's energy needs by 2050 and play a significant role in fighting global warming, a top climate panel concluded Monday. Read more about it here.

Wind. Solar. Nuclear. Coal. Natural gas. Can all of these be considered clean energy?

In President Obama's State of the Union address, he challenged the nation to set a new goal that 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources by 2035. Read reactions to the Obama's new goal.

An Anchorage, Alaska middle school is getting its own wind turbine by participating in the federal Department of Energy's Wind for Schools program. Alaska is one of 11 states in the project, which is aimed at introducing wind power to rural communities, and introducing young people to the science and technology of wind turbines. Read more about it here.

A wind-power company is looking land along the Albemarle Sound as a future site of turbine clusters. According to a local business recruiter, the turbines could employ about 20 people and create construction work for about 300 to 600 others. Read more about it here.