AWEA urges US government to use renewable energy sources for creating jobs

"AWEA urges US Government to use Renewable Energy Sources for Creating Jobs(By Narayan Bhat via GreenTMCnet.com)The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has urged US Congress to
strengthen the draft bill related to renewable electricity standard (RES)
as there is a need to generate hundreds of thousands of jobsin renewable
energy sector over the coming decades."We are disappointed that the
renewable energy target in the bill could be as low as 12 percent by
2020—less than one-half the level proposed by President Obama and Chairman
Markey. And, from an employment standpoint, by lowering the standard and
limiting additional deployment, well over 100,000 jobsare being left on the
cutting room floor,'' AWEA said in a statement.The draft bill comes at a
time US Government is preparing to invest a huge sum of money as part of
its program to create jobs and reduce carbon emissions.AWEA has cited
recent surveys to support its argument that US citizens favor renewable
energy to reverse greenhouse gas emissions growth and create new domestic
manufacturing jobs.AWEA has cited a national poll conducted by Garin Hart
Yang Research Group, which found three-quarters (75 percent) of voters
favoring the idea of requiring electric utility companies to generate at
least 25 percent of their electricity through renewable energy sources by
2025.In United States, wind energyindustry contributes directly to the
economies of 46 states with power plants and manufacturing facilities, AWEA
said."In 2008, the wind industry opened, expanded, or announced 55
manufacturing facilities, and generated 35,000 jobs. Overall, today, over
85,000 American jobs in manufacturing, construction, operations and
services reflect the wind industry¹s continuing growth," stated AWEA in a
press release.AWEA has also quoted the CEO of GE Energy, John Krenicki, who
said: "We believe wind and solar energy are likely to be among the largest
sources of new manufacturing jobs worldwide during the 21st
century."Another study, conducted by Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
has predicted that renewable energy sector would create 297,000 jobs by
2025."It is clear from numerous polls that Americans across the political
spectrum put renewable energy deployment near the top of policy priorities.
The voters are right, because wind and other renewable energy technologies
are one of very few options to reverse greenhouse gas emissions growth and
create new domestic manufacturing jobs," AWEA said.For the very latest wind energy jobs from around the world please click here"