In conjunction with the stable tax policy, the wind industry could create and save 54,000 American jobs over the next four years, according to a recent study by Navigant, a global services firm that specializes in critical business risks and opportunities.
The report shows that if the Production Tax Credit for wind ends, industry jobs will be reduced by half, resulting in a loss of 37,000 American jobs as well as a one-third cut to American wind manufacturing jobs. Private investment in the wind industry is also expected to fall by nearly two-thirds, but extending the PTC could create 17,000 American jobs.
"American manufacturing jobs are coming back with tens of thousands of new jobs from wind power," says Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. "But these jobs could vanish if Congress allows the Production Tax Credit to expire, in effect enacting a targeted tax increase and sending our jobs to foreign countries. Congress must act now to keep this American manufacturing success story going."
The geographic manufacturing base for wind energy would spread job growth throughout the U.S. if there is a PTC extension, Navigant finds, with the states of Colorado, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Oregon, North Dakota and Ohio seeing the largest job and private investment gains.
"We have made a significant investment during the last three years, creating several hundred jobs for the state of Illinois to support the wind industry domestically," says Terry R. Royer, CEO of Winergy Drive Systems Corporation. "With the uncertainty of the PTC extension, we are seeing the hesitation of our customers to make continued commitments for orders in late 2012 and 2013. An immediate extension is needed to support the investment we have made in our operations and secure the jobs that have been created."
Legislation, which has bipartisan support of Dave Reichert, R-Wash., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., has been introduced to grant a four-year extension of PTC. This legislation is backed by 36 cosponsors, including 11 Republicans, and has been endorsed by a coalition of more than 370 members, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Edison Electric Institute, the Western Governors' Association, the United Steelworkers and many members of the environmental community. A four-year PTC extension is also supported by the bipartisan Governors' Wind Energy Coalition, which includes 23 Republican and Democrat Governors.
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