In an attempt to stave off potential job losses, Vestas Wind Systems reduced hours at two manufacturing plants in Colorado for all hourly staff on Monday, according to The Denver Post.
Workers will see their weekly hours drop to 32 from 40, with the balance covered by a “work-share” program approved by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
Affected employees will be able to collect lost wages from unemployment funds released by CDLE under the agreement for up to 18 weeks.
Vestas has suffered repeated layoffs over the past year, slashing more than 800 jobs in October alone ahead of fears that the 10-year wind production tax credit (PTC) would not be renewed for 2013 and beyond.
The Heritage Foundation’s David Kreutzer highlighted seven myths associated with the wind production tax credit, noting the overall failure of wind subsidies in the United States and Europe and the inability of wind power to achieve cost-competitiveness on par with conventional power sources.
Billions in cash payments for solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources has yielded paltry results, with $9.2 billion for small and large wind projects alone raising wind’s contribution as an energy source in 2011 to just 2.9 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Among the problems facing wind—and the turbines that hope to harness its energy—is the chronic problem of intermittency, with installed wind turbines generating around just 25 percent of their nameplate capacity.
Wind also proves wildly unreliable during period when the demand is greatest and at times is “virtually nonexistent,” according to a study released in October 2012.
Yes they offer to cover wages with the work share for 18 weeks but if you use that and you get laid off later it will come out of your UI when you need it more.
Colorado also had Abound Solar (bankrupt), a GE Solar Plant (defunct), EagleNet (corrupt business practices, going defunct), and EcoTech Institute (a college for the Green Industry, I'm taking bets on when it will fold.) Colorado is another fine example of the failures of federal stimulus funding.
What do democrats do for America that doesn't come with consequences to America?
All the lobby and miss information seems to be paying off for Big Oil
By allowing alternative energy companies to dry up and slowing the move away from carbon base energy… Big Oil not corrupt? You can sell the sun or wind and Big Oil and gas interest will do anything possible to keep their control of Energy.
Sadly the efforts by The Heritage Foundation’s David Kreutzer an arm of the GOP. Which has work so hard to cut subsidies for alternative energy and continue the decades of generous funding to BIG Oil and Natural Gas. If we had funded wind, and solar at par with oil we would be past the dependence on such high carbon fuels.
In the end we will all pay for not moving our future away from such high dependence on fossil fuels. It;s all about money and corporate power. If we can use Solar power to get to Mars we can make it work on our roof tops but then again you can't sell the sun or wind. The conversion to alternative energy would open up massive employment and I fear China will dominate Solar and Wind production. While we keep making excuses why we can't.