According to a June 28 report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), BlueGreen Alliance and the United Steelworkers, the US wind industry can create tens of thousands of additional jobs manufacturing wind turbines and components if the US passes long-term policies that create a stable market for the domestic wind energy supply chain.
"Wind energy provides one of the most promising sources of new manufacturing jobs for American workers," said Rob Gramlich, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for AWEA. "This report shows how the right policies such as a Renewable Electricity Standard will build the supply chain and create those jobs."
"This ‘manufacturing blueprint' is a critical step toward ensuring that we don't replace our dependence on foreign oil with a dependence on Chinese-made wind turbines," said Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Winds of Change: A Manufacturing Blueprint for the Wind Industry highlights growth for the American wind industry despite the absence of a long-term and stable market for wind energy, or policies to support wind's manufacturing sector. While the growth in wind energy manufacturing has been steady - growing from 2,500 workers in 2004 to 18,500 in 2009 - tens of thousands of additional jobs manufacturing wind turbines and components, such as towers, gearboxes, and bearings, could be created with policies that establish a long-term, stable market and support the manufacturing sector's transition to the wind industry.
The report follows a recent announcement by AWEA and USW on a "framework agreement" to accelerate the development and deployment of wind energy production in the US. The report recommends a federal RES of 25 percent by 2025 with meaningful mid-term targets, regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, and policies specifically aimed at building the US wind energy manufacturing sector.
Along with the RES, specific policies aimed at building the wind manufacturing sector include extending and strengthening the Recovery Act's convertible tax credit program (1603), fully funding the Green Jobs Act, building a transmission grid infrastructure to meet the demand for clean energy and utilizing loan guarantee programs for commercial manufacturing of clean energy.
The report recommends passing Senator Sherrod Brown's IMPACT Act, which creates a state-level revolving loan fund to help small- and medium-sized manufacturers retool for clean energy markets and adopt energy efficient manufacturing. The report also recommends extending and strengthening the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit with specific incentives and accountability provisions to maximize domestic job creation, including giving highest priority to projects that manufacture clean energy component parts.