We Can Do That! U.S. States Scent Opportunity and Jobs in Wind Manufacturing

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/09/we-can-do-that-u-s-states-scent-opportunity-and-jobs-in-wind-manufacturing

For years the renewable energy industry has struggled to convince government officials in the United States that they should embrace wind power. Now the roles are reversed; it is government that’s chasing the wind industry.

The new balance of power was unmistakable at the annual American Wind Energy Association conference in May, which drew a record 23,000 people to Chicago, Illinois. Among them were governors, economic development officials and public relations agents from 19 states or regions, there to make the case that they offer the land of opportunity for turbine, tower, component and other manufacturers of the approximate 8000 parts that comprise a utility-scale turbine.

‘We’re here to play offence,’ said Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, one of five governors to address the conference. Michigan’s banner, displayed high in the room, was hard to miss, even in a hall crowded with some 1280 exhibitors. ‘We see this as opportunity to diversify in manufacturing, to make the Midwest go from being a rust belt to green belt,’ Granholm added.

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland described renewable energy as the ‘zeitgeist’ while Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle observed that the chant ‘drill, baby, drill,’ popularized by pro-oil forces, holds little value in his state which has no oil or gas. But, conversely, ‘turn, baby, turn’ means money for Wisconsin, a state that already has 75 companies working in the wind industry supply chain.

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