US wind industry statement on Trump infrastructure plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) responded to the Administration’s infrastructure principles (Opens in a new window)released today. Importantly, the principles address energy and rural infrastructure along with roads, bridges, airports and other projects.

“We see significant promise in President Trump’s plan,” said Amy Farrell, Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, for the American Wind Energy Association. “With 99 percent of American wind farms built in rural areas, an investment in transmission infrastructure boosts rural economies while improving resilience and reliability, delivering low cost power to consumers and strengthening U.S. energy dominance.”

“Transmission’s benefits far outweigh costs(Opens in a new window), but government regulations cause delays that kill these transformative infrastructure projects. If Congress produces a balanced infrastructure bill that streamlines transmission siting and permitting, the President’s pen could unleash new energy resources and tens of billions of dollars in consumer savings each year while also making our grid more resilient to threats,” said Farrell.

Transmission lines are the highways that carry low-cost energy harvested from wind turbines on farms and ranches to our homes and businesses. Technicians who keep wind turbines working at peak performance are some of the fastest growing jobs in America(Opens in a new window). And wind is a valuable drought-resistant cash crop for American farmers and ranchers, with annual land lease payments in excess of $245 million. More transmission capacity means these benefits will reach many more parts of the U.S.

For up-to-date images of wind energy, please use this link or contact Evan Vaughan, evaughan@awea.org.