Light Air for Wind Energy Job Growth

Green jobs--the buzz word of the Obama administration--are supposed to be the new source of employment. But the growth has been slow, reports The Los Angeles Times. Take, for example, wind energy. Though the industry enjoyed tax credits and a record 10,000 megawatts of new generating capacity that went live in 2009, it did not see a similar explosion in jobs.
 
Several factors accounted for the slow start, some of them linked to weakness in the overall economy. Electric power demand fell nationwide last year. Electricity from coal and natural gas is still by and large cheaper than wind or solar power. Renewable energy companies, faced with limited demand, often used parts and equipment in stock or imported renewable technology instead of building turbines or solar cells domestically.
 
Industry analysts and energy company executives said job growth is also hampered by lingering uncertainties in federal energy policy. Those include questions about when or whether existing tax breaks will expire and whether the Senate will pass a climate bill that would make fossil fuels more expensive -- and renewable energy more competitive.
 
(Photo by Dori; C.C. 3.0)