PORTLAND, Maine - This is shaping up to be a big year for wind power. That's according to Muskie school economist Charlie Colgan, who unveileda new study today at a Portland news conference.
"We're right at what I would call a takeoff point for the industry," Colgan told reporters.
Colgan said 14 projects will be operating or completed in Maine early this year, and, taken together, they will support 4,200 jobs. Colgan said some of the jobs will involve wind power construction, and others will be in support services.
Colgan said the recent drop in oil prices is unlikely to blunt wind power development. He points out that the fuel cost of wind is zero. And if wind projects do become uneconomical to operate, Colgan said, they're easier to shut down than other forms of electric generation.
