EDF Renewable Energy Recognizes American Wind Week alongside Kansas State Legislators

GEUDA SPRINGS, Kan.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE) is proud of U.S. leadership in wind
power – America’s largest source of renewable energy capacity supporting
over 100,000 U.S. jobs across all 50 states. Modern wind turbines were
invented in the U.S. and American wind projects are among the most
productive in the world. This week is the first American
Wind Week, when businesses, schools, government and communities
across the country are encouraged to share what American wind power
leadership means to them.

“The opportunity today to visit with important thought leaders in the
state legislature highlights the significance of wind in the economic
development and job creation for rural America,” commented Tristan
Grimbert, President & CEO, EDF Renewable Energy. “Kansas has proven to
be a strategic state for our development efforts and we look forward to
building more partnerships to bring the benefit of wind to Kansans.”

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said, “Wind energy allows us to harness
the power of our vast lands. This renewable form of energy allows us to
generate power today while preserving natural resources for our
children’s tomorrow.”

Wind power has grown to be a mainstream source of affordable, reliable
electricity in the United States. A standard two-megawatt (MW) wind
turbine in the U.S. generates enough electricity to power more than 550
average American homes, nearly twice the productivity of wind turbines
in China and Germany. Today
there are over 52,000 wind turbines in 41 states, producing enough
electricity for 25 million average American homes.

“We started American Wind Week to honor the American innovators who
taught the world how to harness the wind for large-scale electricity
generation. They shaped the wind into a productive resource that makes
all Americans safer and our economy more prosperous,” said Tom Kiernan,
CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

Close to 99 percent of U.S. wind power capacity can be found in rural
communities like Geuda Springs, Kansas, where EDF RE is hosting a tour
for Kansas legislators at the Slate
Creek Wind Project. Wind projects throughout the state have drawn
close to $10 billion in capital investment. Nationwide, U.S. wind
projects built over the last decade represent over $143 billion of
investment.

Similar stories can be found across the U.S. heartland, where harvesting
the wind builds stronger rural communities, including a quarter billion
dollars being paid in lease payments to farmers and ranchers each year,
and local taxes being used to repave roads, pay teachers higher
salaries, and even build new schools.

Wind is a powerful job creator, with over 100,000 American wind workers
across all 50 states. Wind
jobs grew 9 times faster than the overall economy last year, and “wind
turbine technician” is the fastest growing job in America, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over 60 percent of the value of a
wind project is made-in-America by 25,000 workers at over 500 factories.
Wind jobs are well-paying careers and an opportunity for U.S. veterans,
which wind employs at a rate 50 percent higher than the average industry.

Even if you’ve never seen a wind farm up close, wind energy plays an
important and growing role in Americans’ everyday lives. Wind power
supplies over 5 percent of U.S. electricity today, with states like
Kansas generating 30 percent of its electricity from wind power each
year. Adding more wind energy to the electricity grid makes the system
more affordable and reliable because wind has no fuel cost and delivers
valuable services that make the grid more resilient.

Thanks to wind energy’s low and stable prices, major brands like Google,
General Motors, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, and Walmart are buying wind
energy to power the products and services you use every day. Google
is 95 percent powered by wind energy. General Motors powers its Arlington
Assembly plant in Texas, which makes over 1,000 SUVs a day, with 50
percent wind energy this year, expanding to 100 percent next year. Every
bottle of Tide, Downy and Mr. Clean is made
with 100 percent wind energy.

Visit Americanwindweek.org
to learn more.

About EDF Renewable Energy:

EDF Renewable Energy is a leading US independent power producer with 30
years of expertise in the renewable industry, covering all range of
services from project origination, development, sales and marketing, to
long-term asset management. EDF Renewable Energy specializes in wind and
solar photovoltaic with presence in other segments of the renewable
energy market: storage, biogas, biomass, hydro, and marine energy. EDF
Renewable Energy’s North American portfolio consists of 9 gigawatts of
developed projects with 4.4 gigawatts of installed capacity throughout
the US, Canada, and Mexico. The operations and maintenance subsidiary,
EDF Renewable Services, operates 10 GW throughout North America. EDF
Renewable Energy is a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles. EDF Energies
Nouvelles is the renewable energy arm of the EDF group, the leading
electricity company in the world. For more information visit: www.edf-re.com

Contacts

EDF Renewable Energy
Sandi Briner, 858-521-3525
[email protected]