OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Renewable energy advocates say they are encouraged by a recent push to expand wind energy in Nebraska.

Advocates gathered at the eighth annual Nebraska Wind and Solar Conference in Omaha on Thursday.

According to John Hansen of the Nebraska Farmers Union, the state is on track for more than 1,300 megawatts of wind energy capacity by 2017. Hansen, whose organization co-sponsored the conference, said that is nearly triple what the state had two years ago, but it isn’t enough.

Hansen says the recent progress is the biggest wind energy development that Nebraska has had but the state still lags far behind other states like Iowa.

The attendees of the conference discussed other opportunities for renewable energy growth amid new federal regulations to reduce greenhouse gases.