The impact of the wind energy industry is impossible to miss for anybody who drives Highway 14 through Vancouver.
Turbine blades, measuring 200-plus feet and looking like something out of a science-fiction movie, can frequently be seen on elongated trucks traversing the highway. The same goes for sections of wind-farm towers, being carried from the Port of Vancouver to destinations near and far.
We are reminded of those scenes with news that the port has welcomed a shipment of 220-foot-long blades that eventually will be sent to a wind farm in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. We also are reminded of the need for Congress to aggressively bolster the renewable energy industry as it formulates legislation related to the coronavirus pandemic.
A year ago, according to Forbes, the renewable energy industry employed three times as many Americans as fossil fuel industries. And the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has forecast solar installer and wind technician to be the two fastest-growing jobs through 2026. As more states work to limit carbon emissions and as more coal-fired plants close, the future of energy employment is in renewable industries.
The renewable energy industry, like others, has been hit hard by COVID-19. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 106,000 clean-energy workers filed for unemployment in March, ranging from construction workers to those who assemble electric cars or install energy-efficient appliances. Major projects have been put on hold because of investor uneasiness, and small projects have been delayed because of social-distancing rules.
As Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs, recently told The Washington Post: “These aren’t left-wing coastal hippies. These are construction workers who get up every day and lace up their boots and pull on their gloves and go to work putting insulation in our attics.”
Despite this, President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have been reluctant to pay attention. Trump has promised lifelines for airlines and oil companies. He has met with oil executives and has said, “We don’t want to lose our great oil companies.”
Fossil fuel companies are, indeed, an important sector of the economy, but the United States should focus on the future of energy production rather than languishing in the past. Climate change demands that we seek and promote changes in how we charge our cellphones and run our dishwashers.
The current climate in Washington, D.C., marks a sharp contrast from the last economic downturn. During the Great Recession a decade ago, Congress and the Obama administration used a stimulus bill to earmark unprecedented funding for renewable energy and fuel-efficient vehicles. The United States spent $112 billion to boost green energy projects, and the results have been witnessed over the past decade in sharp employment growth.
Congressional Democrats attempted to insert funds for renewable energy into the first coronavirus relief package. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., rejected that and accused Democrats of trying to “dust off the Green New Deal.” Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Va., seems to have a more forward-thinking view: “Relief and recovery legislation will shape our society for years to come. We must use these bills to build in a climate-smart way.”
We hope that members of Congress can develop a clear view of the world’s energy future. Maybe they should come take a look at Vancouver.
