Wind Energy Creating New Jobs

How great is it when one good thing creates a bunch of other good things? According to national averages provided by the American Wind Energy Association, the 201-megawatt Nobles Wind Farm in southeastern Minnesota created approximately:

• 200 construction jobs

• 13 long-term operation and maintenance jobs

• 400 manufacturing jobs

• Approximately $600,000 in annual farmer/landowner revenue

And that’s just one wind farm. Others are already completed, and more are in various stages of construction.

During our country’s current economic challenges, figures like that provide some good news, but they tend to get overlooked among the bad news. I guarantee you those 613 people and the wind farm landowners (mostly farmers) aren’t overlooking them.

Job creation, environmental benefits and peace of mind knowing that more renewable energy is going into the mix. Good news on all counts, I’d say.

We’re not in Kansas anymore

I find it interesting to ask people which utility they think provides the most wind energy. I always hear answers in Kansas and California, with a few in Massachusetts and Hawaii sprinkled in. Most people are surprised to hear it’s Xcel Energy. The American Wind Energy Association has named Xcel as the “No. 1 wind power provider” six years in a row. We really like that title, and we’re working hard to keep it.

Clean energy and job creation? Farmers getting additional revenue for their land? Utilities adding more renewable energy every day? What’s next? Solar power solving world hunger? The possibilities are endless. And encouraging.

Article by Sheila Knudtsen, appearing courtesy Xcel Energy Blog.