Renewable Electricity Standard Won't Create Jobs
Unless Strengthened
WASHINGTON, Jul 16, 2009 -- BUSINESS WIRE
This morning, members of America's wind power industry laid out a compelling
case to strengthen the proposed Congressional renewable electricity standard
(RES) in order to protect American jobs and maintain America's leadership
status in the increasingly competitive global wind power industry.
Testifying before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, G.E.
Vice Chair and Energy Infrastructure President and CEO John Krenicki called
for any federal RES passed this year to be significantly stronger than
proposals now on the table.
Legislation passed by the House and a Senate committee last month, Krenicki
said, fall far short of what is needed and would have "disastrous"
consequences for the domestic wind industry in the near term. Current
proposals, due to carve-outs in definitions and calculations of the
standard, do not drive new renewable energy deployment in the near term.
"While the U.S. struggles to determine the future of clean energy, other
countries around the world are setting aggressive near-term and long-term
standards and incentives to create large domestic markets for renewable
energy," Krenicki said. "Both the RES passed by the House of Representatives
and the RES approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
last month are far too weak to drive growth. The current RES proposals for
2012 - anywhere from 3 to 6 percent of total U.S. electricity generation -
are essentially equal to or below the status quo."
"Massive new investments in manufacturing will not be made in the U.S. today
based on the hope of a strong carbon price signal 10 years from now,"
explained Krenicki. "It would take a 12% renewable electricity standard by
2012, with reasonable percentages to be satisfied by energy efficiency
measures, to enable U.S. wind deployments to continue on the current growth
trajectory," Krenicki said. "Such a standard would also help drive dollars
to small companies and developers waiting for stimulus checks to begin
rolling out, and help sustain a domestic industry that cannot wait for
longer term carbon legislation to come into effect."
The Senate is currently holding hearings on climate and energy legislation
and is expected to mark up legislation in September. The House passed its
version of the bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, late last
month.
Leading voices in the wind industry echoed Krenicki's call for more robust
U.S. policy to support renewable energy.
"The U.S. wind industry is on the cusp of either expanding upon the rapid
gains made in recent years or giving up those gains to foreign competitors,
and national energy policy - namely, a strong RES - will make the
difference," said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
"Unfortunately, the current RES proposals maintain the status quo and fail
to seize the historic opportunity we have today to build up the nation's
manufacturing base and revitalize our economy."
AWEA last week released its annual "20% Wind Report Card," which showed that
while wind accounted for 40% of the nation's new energy generating capacity
in 2008, wind farm development in 2009 is expected to slow as a result of
the economic downturn, leading to a drop in wind turbine and wind turbine
component orders. Meanwhile, strong RES targets have the ability to produce
hundreds of thousands of jobs in the near and long term, according to a
recent study by the Blue-Green Alliance. The U.S. wind power industry added
or expanded more than 70 manufacturing facilities in the past two years
(2007-2008), including over 55 in 2008 alone, according to AWEA.
"We are at extraordinary point in the U.S. wind energy industry today, with
the U.S. having pulled into #1 position last year and invested in a record
number of manufacturing facilities," said Sampson A. Brown, President/CEO of
Knight & Carver Wind Group, a blade manufacturing and repair company with
facilities in California and South Dakota. "Congress needs to lock in the
industry's momentum with a strong RES. Now is the time for decisive action -
not only for our company and our industry, but for the nation's energy
future."
Both Europe and China have publicly committed to strong renewable energy
policies in the near term. The EU's Renewable Energy Directive commits
member nations to an average of 25% renewables between 2011 and 2012. China
has doubled its wind power capacity in each of the last four years, and
expects to have 30,000 megawatts of wind installed by the end of 2010 - 10
years ahead of a target set last year. The U.S. currently has over 28,000
megawatts of wind power capacity.
"A strong RES is a pro-jobs policy that we can't afford to pass up," said
Parthiv Amin, President of Winergy, a company based in Illinois that
manufactures gearboxes for wind turbines. "A robust RES would send a clear
signal in the US market, and would unleash a wave of investment and job
creation in our domestic manufacturing base."
AWEA is the national trade association of America's wind industry, with more
than 2,000 member companies, including global leaders in wind power and
energy development, wind turbine manufacturing, component and service
suppliers, and the world's largest wind power trade show. AWEA is the voice
of wind energy in the U.S., promoting renewable energy to power a cleaner,
stronger America. Look up information on wind energy at the AWEA Web site.
Find insight on industry issues at AWEA's blog Into the Wind. Join AWEA on
Facebook. Follow AWEA on Twitter.
SOURCE: American Wind Energy Association
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