There’s a growing trend in the United States towards the use of clean, renewable forms of energy. As more Americans become conscious of their impact on the environment, they look towards cleaner sources of energy. And according to a recent report published by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Colorado boasts the highest number of wind-energy manufacturing jobs in the U.S.
Of course, this should come as no surprise to the 5.3 million residents living in the Centennial State, as it’s home to Vestas Wind Systems. Over the past few years, Vestas Wind Systems has aggressively expanded its operations, adding thousands of new jobs to its four factories based in Colorado.
So, how many wind-energy manufacturing jobs does Colorado have? The AWEA report did not publish specific numbers. However, BizJournals.com claims the state had somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 wind-energy jobs at the end of 2014. It’s important to note that those are “wind-energy” not “wind-energy manufacturing” jobs.
While Colorado may be leading the pack in the terms of wind-energy manufacturing jobs, another state boasts a higher production of wind energy. According to the AWEA report, a whopping 28.5% of Iowa’s electricity comes from wind energy, more than any other state. Coming in at a close second, however, was South Dakota with 25.3%, followed by Kansas with 21.7%.
As noted in the report, wind energy was the preferred choice of energy for the Midwest, Pacific Northwest, and Plains regions, churning out 60% or more of all new electricity for the region between 2011 and 2014. These “windy” regions offer the perfect location for turbines, allowing residents to reap the benefits of clean energy at low prices.
“Iowa gets nearly 30% of its electricity from homegrown wind power, more than any other state,” said Representative King. “Thanks to technological improvements and scaling up domestic manufacturing, the U.S. wind industry has reduced the cost of wind energy by more than half over the last five years. It was the intent of Congress to create an alternative production source of American electricity. Wind will never be an energy source we have to import and now, we have American homegrown supplies of turbines, towers, and blades. The wind industry has done what Congress asked them to do. Congress needs to hold up their part of the bargain.”