Wind Energy Job Growth Will Blow You Away

Posted on | April 13, 2009 | No Comments

Today, the American Wind Energy Association released its annual Wind Industry Report to the thunderous applause of environmentalist, clean tech investors and unemployed jobseekers alike. The report revealed a 50% increase in the amount of wind energy produced in the U.S., moving the U.S. making it number one in the world in terms of installed wind power capacity. Investors plowed over $17B into wind energy in 2008, and the wind energy industry is poised to grow 30-fold over the next five years thanks to federal tax credits and grants.

But, what about now? What can you do with this information? Plan ahead, of course, but you can also use it to target jobs at wind energy companies. Currently, the wind industry employs more than 85,000 people, up from 50,000 in 2007. The industry added 35,000 jobs in 2008 alone, mostly in the manufacturing, operations and management, construction, financial services consulting, engineering, land development, transportation and logistics fields.

So, if you’re currently job-hunting, train your sights on Texas, the state with more wind energy capacity than most countries (If Texas were a country, it’d rank 6th in the world for wind energy capacity). Iowa surprised many by sprinting into 2nd place and knocking California into 3rd place. Here are the top 5 states for wind energy capacity and job opportunities.