CANYON, TEXAS -- There are many among us who may not care for the constant winds of the high plains. The alternative energy institute is not among them. It's been using the wind to its advantage.

West Texas A&M is one of only three universities that studies renewable energy. About a month shy of its birthday, the program decided it was time for a party.

AEI Director of training and outreach Ken Starcher said, "Today is a celebration of our 35th anniversary. 35 years that AEI's been here in the panhandle trying to figure out the renewable potentials of all types of renewable energy."

AEI was founded in 1977 on the campus of West Texas State University with the primary purpose of developing innovative ways to use alternative sources of energy including solar, wind, and bioconversion.

"We were one of the first ones to actually, physically test on-site systems to see how well they'd work for the farmers and ranchers in our area. The second thing we've done is research assessment, trying to figure out where the wind blows, where the sun shines and how much of that resource can be captured with the devices that were available at the day," said Starcher.

The program is involved in several projects around the area where students get to have hands-on and real world experience.

"We got to test a whole lot of turbines when a lot of other places don't get to test near as many," said WT alumni and research technician Wesley Warren. "and that's because we are fortunate enough to have really good winds. So we've been able to get a whole lot of data in high winds and complete our test sooner."

So as the renewable energy industry continues to expand, WT's students seem to be ahead of the rest.

"They do just about everything from data, analyzing data, to installing our turbines and every aspect of testing, their all involved in it," said Warren.

WTAMU is getting ready to offer a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering come next spring.