Wind energy officials, manufacturers and providers have gathered in the Windy City this week for WINDPOWER 2009, a conference expected to draw some 18,000 people.

Kicking it off on Tuesday, four governors from the Midwest along with the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appeared at a news conference.

The presence of so much executive clout demonstrated just how important wind has become, rising from a small player on the energy scene merely a few years ago to becoming a leader in the movement for low-carbon, job-creating clean energy solutions.

Wind sounds so wonderful — it’s squeaky clean, straightforward, local. And in Texas, Iowa, Minnesota and handful of other places where it’s already whirling away, it is making a difference. Consumers in these states, and beyond, have expanding access to clean energy programs through their electricity providers because of wind farms.

Wind and environmental advocates say that the U.S. should set a goal of obtaining 25 percent of its energy from clean renewable sources, like wind and solar power, by 2025. Many states have set goals that move in that direction.

But getting from A to B won’t be easy. As wind expands across the U.S. Midwest  and on the coasts – all the places where the wind blows strongly – sending that energy to population centers will confront obstacles.

The state governors at the conference are clearing some of the roadblocks to generating and using more wind power. They’re helping retrofit manufacturing plants to make the tools available; visiting European countries to learn how wind works and supporting community colleges as they set up wind-tech classes to train the workforce that will be needed.

But this is the low-hanging fruit, and the governors know that they will need help from Washington. To a person, they emphasized the need for Congressional support to get wind aloft and most critically, to unify the grid system and create the “Smart Grid” needed to carry clean energy efficiently to consumers.

“We need good strong wise policy at the state and national level,” said Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle. The others, Jennifer Granholm from Michigan, Chet Culver of Iowa, Ted Strickland of Ohio, agreed.

Without strong federal guidance and money, America could reach and reach and still miss the mark.

And what of this Smart Grid, this massive technological marvel that must be built before we can have affordable clean energy?

The idea is that a digital, modernized electricity delivery system could cut out inefficiencies on “both the supply and demand sides of the meter” as Jon Wellinghoff, chairman of the FERC, explained. It would accommodate new sources of power, adjust for inefficiencies and help smooth out demand/supply issues. (Remember both wind and solar follow natural patterns and don’t necessarily peak when everyone in your neighborhood wants to run the dishwasher and the dryer at the same time.)

The climate change bill may be stuck in Congress but green initiatives march on. From the coasts to the heartland, states are taking matters into their own hands with many governors leading the way.

Among the most prominent “Green Govs” today are Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Democrat Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Due in part to their green inclinations, we will no doubt be seeing more of these men in years to come. Schwarzenegger indicated recently that he’d be happy to take on the role of energy and environment czar in an Obama Administration; and it’s widely assumed that Patrick, who early on endorsed his fellow Chicagoan and Harvard Law School grad Barack Obama, would have a position in a Democratic White House.

In 2006, Schwarzenegger signed the Global Warming Solutions Act into law. It contains one of the most ambitious rollbacks of emissions levels, requiring that California reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Included in the law is the Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan which Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California’s Air Resources Board, describes as a “roadmap to move us quickly to a cleaner, more sustainable future, energy independence and a healthier environment.

This plan fulfills the Governor’s determination to act now, and it is based on the conviction that Californians will rise to the challenge and develop creative solutions to improve our environment and grow our economy.”

“The Governor is sincere in his green efforts,” says Leo Kay, director of communications for the Air Resources Board. “He puts his money where his mouth is. He’s been very supportive of diesel pollution regulation and even replaced the chair of the board last summer with the very respected Mary Nichols. He has regularly opposed offshore drilling and is much more interested in the possibilities of renewable energy.”

Last year, California made it mandatory for 2009 model cars to be labeled with global warming scores. The higher the score, the cleaner the car.

Schwarzenegger says that after his time as governor, he plans on promoting clean energy around the world. In a July 13 interview on ABC’s This Week, the California governor was critical of the Bush administration’s stance on global warming. The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Stephen Johnson, recently said the EPA would not take steps to regulate climate-warming emissions under the existing pollution laws even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the agency had the power to do so.

The governor told This Week’s George Stephanopoulos, that this decision “really means basically this administration did not believe in global warming, or they did not believe that they should do anything about it since China is not doing anything about it and since India is not willing to do the same thing, so why should we do the same thing?” Schwarzenegger added that the United States should lead the fight against global warming, as it did with the international race to the moon in the ‘60s.

Schwarzenegger also is known as a promoter of hydrogen cars and solar energy. His Million Solar Roofs plan, enacted in 2006, which offers homeowners financial incentives for installing solar roofs with the aim of having 1 million solar roofs operating in the state by 2018.