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Wind Web Tutorial WIND ENERGY and the ECONOMYWhat does the U.S. wind industry contribute to the economy? More reading: Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development, U.S. Department of Energy What are America's current sources of electricity? Coal, the most polluting fuel and the largest source of the leading greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), is currently used to generate more than half of all of the electricity (52%) used in the United States. Other sources of electricity are: natural gas (16%), oil (3%), nuclear (20%), and hydropower (7%). How many people work in the U.S. wind industry? The U.S. wind industry currently directly employs more than 2,000 people. The wind industry contributes directly to the economies of 46 states, with power plants and manufacturing facilities that produce wind turbines, blades, electronic components, gearboxes, generators, and a wide range of other equipment. The Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) estimates that every megawatt of installed wind capacity creates about 4.8 job-years of employment, both direct (manufacturing, construction, operations) and indirect (advertising, office support, etc.). This means that a 50-MW wind farm creates 240 job-years of employment. According to a REPP study released in October 2004, boosting U.S. wind energy installations to approximately eight times today's levels could create 150,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide, with most jobs being added in the 20 states that have lost the most in recent years. According to REPP, some 90 companies in 25 states currently manufacture wind turbine components, and over 16,000 companies in all 50 states have the technical potential to enter the wind turbine market. The full report is available on the REPP Web site at: http://www.repp.org/articles/static/1/binaries/WindLocator.pdf Wind and solar energy are likely to be among the largest sources of new manufacturing jobs worldwide during the 21st Century. What is the value of export markets for wind? Export markets are growing rapidly. Overseas markets account for about half of the business of U.S. manufacturers of small wind turbines and wind energy developers. Small wind turbine markets are diverse and include many applications, both on-grid (connected to a utility system) and off-grid (stand-alone). The potential economic benefits from wind are enormous. At a time when U.S. manufacturing employment is generally on the decline, the production of wind equipment is one of the few potentially large sources of new manufacturing jobs on the horizon. AWEA estimates that wind installations worldwide will total more than 100,000 megawatts over the next decade, or more than $100 billion worth of business. If the U.S. industry could capture a 25% share of the global wind market through the year 2015, many thousands of new jobs would be created. In what other ways does wind energy benefit the economy? Wind farms can revitalize the economy of rural communities, providing steady income through lease or royalty payments to farmers and other landowners. Although leasing arrangements vary widely, a reasonable estimate for income to a landowner from a single utility-scale turbine is about $3,000 a year. For a 250-acre farm, with income from wind at about $55 an acre, the annual income from a wind lease could be $14,000, with no more than 2-3 acres removed from production. Such a sum can significantly increase the net income from farming. Farmers can grow crops or raise cattle next to the towers. Wind farms may extend over a large geographical area, but their actual "footprint" covers only a very small portion of the land, making wind development an ideal way for farmers to earn additional income. In west Texas, for example, farmers are welcoming wind, as lease payments from this new clean energy source replace declining payments from oil wells that have been depleted. Farmers are not the only ones in rural communities to find that wind power can bring in income. In Spirit Lake, Iowa, the local school is earning savings and income from the electricity generated by a turbine. In the district of Forest City, Iowa, a turbine recently erected as a school project is expected to save $1.6 million in electricity costs over its lifetime. Additional income is generated from one-time payments to construction contractors and suppliers during installation, and from payments to turbine maintenance personnel on a long-term basis. Wind farms also expand the local tax base, and keep energy dollars in the local community instead of spending them to pay for coal or gas produced elsewhere. Finally, wind also benefits the economy by reducing "hidden costs" resulting from air pollution and health care. Several studies have estimated that 50,000 Americans die prematurely each year because of air pollution. More reading: Wind Energy for Rural Economic Development, U.S. Department of Energy Yes. When a wind farm generates electricity in the U.S., the fuel that it is most likely to displace is natural gas. In mid-2003, when Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan testified before Congress that rising natural gas prices were threatening the economy's future, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) estimated that U.S. wind plants were already reducing the national natural gas shortage by 10-15%. AWEA has stated that enough wind plants could be built within four years to eliminate the entire gas shortage (estimated at 3-4 billion cubic feet of gas per day). For more information, see: http://www.awea.org/news/news030618gas.html In 2001, the Colorado Public Utility Commission recognized wind's value as a hedge against volatile natural gas prices, requiring a major utility to include a wind plant in its generating mix in the state rather than relying solely on natural gas. For details on the Commission's decision, see: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy01osti/30551.pdf More reading: Wind Energy and Natural Gas: Balancing Price and Supply Volatility, National Wind Coordinating Committee, I own some land that is windy. How can I build a wind farm on it? A first step is to find out more about just how windy your land is—its "wind resource." You can find out more about this and other basic things you will need to know from 10 Steps in Building a Wind Farm. I support the concept of wind power. How can I invest in it? The wind industry includes many companies which derive some or much of their revenue from wind-related business. To learn more about investing in one of them, see Investing in Wind Power.
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