4/21/2009 4:30:01 PM

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By Sarah Doty

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

	Jobs created through wind projects • The Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) estimates that every megawatt of installed wind capacity creates about 4.8 job-years of employment, both direct -- manufacturing, construction, operations -- and indirect -- advertising, office support, etc. That means for a 50 MW farm, 240 job-years of employment are created. • In the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for wind and solar power generation, the state of Minnesota reports there are 14 firms, and 134 jobs, with average weekly wages of $1,070 in 2007. That has jumped 50.6 percent from 2005-2007 -- from 84 to 134 jobs, and industry employment has nearly tripled since 2000. • NAICS reports that for turbine and power transmission equipment in Minnesota, there were 17 firms and 572 jobs with average weekly wages of $905 in 2007. • NAICS reports that wind and solar power line construction in Minnesota, there were 179 firms providing 1,880 jobs with average weekly wages of $1,042 in 2007. That industry has grown 6.4 percent from 2005-2007. • NAICS reports that wind-generated and solar-energy electrical power regulation in Minnesota, there were 21 firms and 588 jobs in 2007 with average weekly wages of $914.

Think about the population of the city of Duluth: 85,000 residents.

The wind industry employed the same amount of people in the United States last year, according to a report issued by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). That figure is up by 35,000 people from 2007.

The numbers reflect a growing industry that impacts not only wind turbine manufacturers and developers, but also the truckers who deliver the parts, the lawyers who negotiate the contracts and the office workers who answer phones.

"Our numbers are both exciting and sobering," AWEA CEO Denise Bode said. "The U.S. wind energy industry's performance in 2008 confirms that wind is an economic and job creation dynamo ..."

There is no sign of stopping, with dozens of projects proposed for the next year.

Here in Minnesota, wind industry jobs are also booming, but the exact number is hard to find.

The reason is that the North American Industry Classification System, which classifies business statistical data for the U.S. economy, doesn't have a separate classification for wind. Instead, it's lumped together with other renewable energy sources -- such as solar power generation, according to Jennifer Ridgeway, a regional analyst with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

However, even without numbers, recent developments across the state speak for themselves.

Companies moving in

Because of the size of the turbines and parts, and the cost of transporting them across the ocean -- because most of them are manufactured overseas, more and more companies are locating closer to the markets.

In fact, domestically manufactured wind turbine components have increased remarkably from less than 30 percent in 2005 to nearly 50 percent in 2008, according to the AWEA.

"Wind turbine and turbine component manufacturers announced, added or expanded 70 new facilities in the past two years, including over 55 in 2008 alone," according to the AWEA. Those new facilities have generated 13,000 new direct jobs in 2008.

New buildings and factories across Minnesota are prime examples of that shift to domestically made components.

Last September, Finnish company Moventas announced a plan to build a new assembly plant in Faribault.

Moventas, a supplier of mechanical power transmission equipment, decided that Faribault was a prime location because of the "concentration of wind industry businesses; turbine producers, component suppliers and operating wind farms," in the area, according to the company.

When the plant opens, it will employ about 100 people.

Moventas isn't the only company finding a place in the state wind industry.

Suzlon Rotor Corp. realized the importance of the Midwest market nearly three years ago when it opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the southwestern Minneosta town of Pipestone.

More than 500 people are employed by the facility, which produces wind turbine blades and nose cones.

Others have followed suit, with several companies locating offices across Minnesota.

Among the transient companies are: Horizon Wind Energy, owned by EDP Renovaveis and headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and Nature Energies, based in Paris. Horizon Wind is located in LeRoy, and Nature Energies in Rochester.

Companies benefit

Even with all the activitiy, a majority of manufacturing is still done overseas.

For the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, that isn't necessarily bad news.

Fiscal year 2007 was the most profitable year in the port's history, closing more than $2.3 million in the black, according to Chief Financial Officer John Kubow.

The next closest year was back in 2001, when the net profit was $837,000.

The difference is simple, Kubow said.

"Sales of wind turbine components."

Clure Marine Terminal's operator, Lake Superior Warehousing Co. Inc., handled much of the wind power equipment, so the cut of revenues received by the port authority was substantial.

The shipping was both inbound from Germany, Denmark and Spain and outbound to destinations on the East Coast and Europe.

To handle the massive wind turbines and their parts, the laydown area around the terminal has been greatly expanded.

More than $400,000 was spent to ready 6 acres for the equipment and Lake Superior Warehousing prepared an additional 25 acres of land at the docks to use as a laydown area.

News services contributed to this report.

 

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