Wind power will probably lift industry

Increasing use of wind power means more work for manufacturers.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The future of two industries traditionally at odds -- one new and flourishing, the other older and stumbling -- could become increasingly entwined in the coming years if a recent series of multimillion-dollar deals are any indication.
A burgeoning wind power industry just might prove to be a much needed shot in the arm for beleaguered manufacturers. As the percentage of power generated by wind increases, industry experts and manufacturers say energy companies will turn increasingly to domestic manufacturers to supply the nuts and bolts for the high-tech turbines sprouting up along the country's windiest ridges.
Europe has dominated the market so far because of its well-established wind industry.
What's forecast
As much as 2,500 megawatts of power capacity from wind farms is expected to be brought on line next year, a record, according to the American Wind Energy Association, an industry group.
Currently, the country has a capacity of slightly more than 6,300, according to the AWEA.
Electricity generated by alternative energy is expected to reach 22,000 megawatts in the next decade, thanks in part to laws in 17 states that require utilities to buy a portion of their power from those sources.
And according to a recent study, states that have lost the most manufacturing jobs have the most to gain from wind power.
To benefit most
The 20 states that would benefit most are those that lost 76 percent of the manufacturing jobs over the past 31/2 years, according to a study funded by the Department of Energy and the Energy Foundation.
"What has been a boutique business is quickly turning into a mainstream energy source, and there's a huge opportunity for manufacturing here," said Mike Vickerman, a member of Gov. Jim Doyle's energy task force in Wisconsin. Domestic manufacturers have slowly incorporated components for towers and turbines into the production mix, with 90 firms now doing so, but that trend is picking up steam.
Production shift
At Hodge Foundry Inc. in northwest Pennsylvania, a manufacturing region in a state that has been hammered by manufacturing job losses, about 2 percent of production has been shifted to hubs and bed plates for the massive wind towers, said Joseph Simko, president and general manager of the Greenville foundry.
Two weeks after President Bush signed a one-year extension of a tax credit for the production of electricity from wind, GE Energy announced $1.3 billion in orders and commitments for new domestic wind projects.
Industry giant
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell announced late last month that industry giant Gamesa Corp., of Spain, will base its U.S headquarters and East Coast development offices in Philadelphia and it will also open a manufacturing facility in the state that will create hundreds of manufacturing jobs.
Wisconsin is in the late stages of siting a facility that may yet become the first devoted solely to the manufacture of towers and components for the wind industry, said Vickerman, who is also the executive director of RENEW Wisconsin, a nonprofit that promotes renewable energy.
"There's going to be a crying need for companies producing new components, from towers to gear boxes, cell covers, hubs, blades, because it's only going to get more expensive to ship these things long distances," Vickerman said.
Component makers
According to the Renewable Energy Policy Project, which recently completed the DOE study, there are 16,163 companies in 50 states that make at least one of the 20 components commonly used in turbines.
Researchers reported that if the country created 50,000 megawatts in capacity from wind power, about half of the AWEA goal, and more than twice what is predicted in the next decade, it would create 150,000 manufacturing jobs.