The Obama administration intends to spend $93 million to boost the nation's use of wind energy. Yet in Pipestone, Minn., 160 employees of a wind power company will lose their jobs this summer.
Suzlon Rotor Corp. in Pipestone will cut its work force in half because of weak demand for its wind turbine blades -- even as state and federal officials are pushing renewable energy sources. The disconnect is explained, in part, by the steep drop in orders for wind turbines in the past six months as the recession deepened, the banking crisis spread and the price of oil dropped.
"2008 was probably the best year that wind energy had in the United States," Suzlon spokesman Mike Aabram said Monday. "2009 dropped off because of the economic downturn."
Suzlon, whose parent corporation is based in India, received state and local financial incentives to open a plant in late 2006. Employment peaked at about 500 a year or so ago, and Suzlon now employs 324 people. Seventy jobs at Suzlon will be cut Aug. 2, and 90 more are scheduled to be cut by Sept. 12, the company said.
