Pennsylvania cracked the top 10 among U.S. states for wind power jobs and projects under construction in 2012, according to a report from the American Wind Energy Association, a national trade group for the industry.
The association’s 2011 market report, released Thursday, pegged the commonwealth at No. 8 for wind jobs at 3,000 to 4,000. Iowa and Texas lead the way with an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 jobs in the industry, the association said.
On the construction side, Pennsylvania is No. 6 with 520 megawatts, the report said. Kansas topped the list with 1,189 megawatts under construction this year.
The industry as a whole installed more than 6,800 megawatts in 2011, which was up 31 percent from 2010. Another 8,300 megawatts of wind power are expected to be added this year, the report said.
Over the past five years, American wind power has brought in about $20 billion annually in private investment, the association said. In that span, nearly 500 U.S. manufacturing facilities have been created from coast to coast.
The industry has employed 75,000 people overall, including 30,000 manufacturing jobs, the association said.
A House bill, known as House Resolution 3307, has been proposed to extend through 2016 an existing production tax credit for wind energy. That tax incentive is set to expire at the end of this year.
