AWEA CEO Denise Bode responds to Rep. Stearns on wind manufacturing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                   

October 7, 2011                                                                                                       

Contact: Jon Goldstein
jgoldstein@awea.org
202.383.2553

 
Washington, DC. (October 7, 2011) – The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released the following statement from CEO Denise Bode today in reaction to Rep. Cliff Stearns’s (R-FL) recent comments concerning American competitiveness in wind energy manufacturing.

“Rep. Stearns misunderstands that wind energy is an American manufacturing success story. The wind industry has been a bright spot through the depths of the recession, creating one of the fastest-growing U.S. manufacturing sectors. Wind is actually insourcing a whole new manufacturing sector. Sixty percent of a wind turbine’s value is now produced here in America, compared to 25% prior to 2005. As the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service recently found, American wind manufacturing facilities have grown to almost 400 in 2010, up from as few as 30 in 2004. And at least one of these manufacturing facilities is in Rep. Stearns own district. Overall, wind energy supports between 2,000 to 3,000 jobs in Florida and 75,000 across the U.S. It's my hope that Rep. Stearns sees that clean, homegrown American wind energy is not only a manufacturing market that America can compete in, it’s a market that we are winning – with the support of modest federal tax incentives.” said Denise Bode, AWEA CEO.
 
As the Congressional Research Service Report states: “Wind turbine manufacturing is at the core of the multifaceted wind power industry. Because of the use of castings, forgings, and machining, turbine manufacturing is a significant contributor to U.S. heavy manufacturing.”