Wind Today - Q3 2008 - (Page 42)

Feature Education and T raining for a New Wind Frontier The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 20% wind energy by 2030 report predicts that 20% of the nation’s electricity could be generated by wind power by 2030. This is a steep goal considering only 1.5% of the nation’s energy is currently generated from wind turbine sources. Under DOE’s scenario, the wind industry would have to ramp up capacity to 16,000 megawatts (MW) annually beginning in 2016 and continue adding 16,000 MW each year through 2030. In 2007, the U.S. wind industry installed a record-breaking 5,244 MW and expanded wind power generating capacity by 45%, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. The industry has grown in the United States by an average of 29% annually over the past five years. While positive, the surge in production capacity also forces changes in infrastructure and labor available to meet this increased demand. The wind industry is working to keep up with this tremendous growth by cultivating and hiring a skilled and enlarged workforce. Jobs Outlook According to Julie Clendenin, communications consultant, American Wind Energy Association, Washington, DC (AWEA/202-383-2500), the U.S. wind industry currently employs about 50,000 domestic workers in a wide range of job categories at wind farms and across the supply chain. AWEA estimates that if the wind industry realizes the DOE’s “20% Wind Energy by 2030” goal, the wind industry would support 500,000 jobs across varied fields including construction, manufacturing, wind plant technicians and businesses related to and supporting the wind industry like transportation and component manufacturers. “As the wind industry ramps up its installation schedule, the need for greater domestic manufacturing will rapidly expand,” indicates Clendenin. There is currently a high demand for workers in technical and non-technical jobs including wind turbine technicians, design engineers, proposal writers, construction managers, largeload transportation specialists, utility program managers, and a host of others. Intensifying the challenge to recruitment, the industry is competing for an overall shrinking pool of available workers. Against this backdrop, the U.S. Department of Labor projects virtually no growth in the “prime age workforce,” defined as between the ages of 25 and 54, and expects a substantial slowdown in labor force skill growth in the next 20 years. r Workf orkforce T aining the Workforce Stakeholders from both industry and government have partnered with 42 Response No. 421 WIND TODA Y Third Quarter 2008 http://wecselectric.net http://wecselectric.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Wind Today - Q3 2008

Wind Today - Q3 2008 Contents 24th Annual CanWEA Conference and Trade Show Vancouver, BC, Conference Host City CanWEA Banquet/Awards WINDPOWER 2008 Review WINDPOWER 2008 Awards AWEA Fall Symposium 2008 Solano Wind Project Large Wind Turbine Manufacturers Forum Manufacturers of Wind Turbines Installed in the United States Wind Turbine Manufacturers Installed Capacity Prince Wind Energy Project Education and Training for A New Wind Frontier Joyce McLean Jim Walker Supply Chain Challenges and Solutions . . . from the Turbine OEM Perspective . . . from the Component OEM Perspective . . . from the Base Industry Perspective . . . from the Investor Perspective U.S. Wind Industry Installations Exceed 20,000 MW 20% by 2030 Summary Analysis Global Wind Turbine Procurement: Strategies and Contract Structures Wind Turbine Acquisition WT News: Association News WT News: Government WT News: Canada WT News: United States WT News: International MMS Close to Issuing Leases for Offshore Testing of Renewable Resources Expert Says Turbine Related Deaths May Cause Significant Impact to Bat Population Windpower Turbines Spinning Again on Prince Edward Island Map: Wind Turbine, Tower, and Blade Manufacturers in the United States A Look at Regional Entities U.S. Installed Wind Capacity State Wind Resource Rankings Wind Resource Maps (Wisconsin and Maine) Bruce Bailey, AWS Truewind John Keating, Canadian Hydro Composotech Crane Service Inc. GPCo Inc. Morgan AM&T 3M Bennett International Group Wind Farms Completed in the United States Wind Farms Under Construction in the United States Glossary Product Surveys Calendar Ad Index

Wind Today - Q3 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.