Fact Checker: Was O'Malley on the money for wind jobs?

Introduction

'Clean energy is a job creator, pure and simple. Iowa and Maryland prove it. Both of our states set standards and targets to encourage investment in renewable fuels. Iowa did this first among states, and now is a leader in biofuel production and wind generation. Last year, the number of Iowans working in the wind industry increased by 50 percent.'

Source of claim

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, in a guest opinion in The Des Moines Register

Analysis

A representative with O'Malley's campaign named an April Register article citing a 2014 American Wind Energy Association report as the original source for O'Malley's statement.

A quick look at the numbers shows O'Malley's claim actually understates last year's growth in Iowa wind-power jobs, which roughly doubled from the 3,001-to-4,000 range in 2013 to the 6,001-to-7,000 range last year, according to figures provided by AWEA. This could have been as simple as a math error when looking at job growth.

However, looking back a few years further shows the number of wind jobs in Iowa has merely returned to similar levels present in 2011 and 2012, when jobs first reached that 6,001-to-7,000 range.

Mike Prior, executive director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association, said the roughly 7,000 jobs counted are directly related to the industry, specifically in operation and maintenance. Indirect jobs in education, development or construction would push that number higher, he added.

Jobs in the wind industry dropped significantly in 2013 due to layoffs following the expiration of the Federal Production Tax Credit for wind energy — an inflation-adjusted per-kilowatt-hour tax credit that was ultimately renewed at the close of 2012.

'There was quite a bit of uncertainty in that time frame,' Prior said.

A December 2014 Iowa Advanced Energy Employment Survey indicated Iowa's wind-power workforce in 2014 represented a decline of as much as 50 percent of jobs achieved in 2011 and 2012.

'This decline occurred during a sharp downturn in the U.S. wind industry associated with the expiration, followed by renewal, of the federal production tax credit (PTC), which resulted in a 90 percent drop in wind industry revenue in 2013,' according to the survey.

Enacted in 1992, the PTC has traditionally been renewed every one or two years, but the extended delay in its 2012 renewal caused manufacturing jobs for wind power to drop nationwide, said David Ward, deputy director in strategic communications for AWEA.

'New orders that would have started but didn't because of the uncertainty, a lot of those jobs would have been lost at some point,' Ward said. 'Once the PTC was extended and new orders could start coming in 2013 ... they kind of restarted the industry in a way.'

However, the lull in production carried down the pipeline, affecting jobs in development, operation and maintenance across the industry. Wind power jobs are coming back, but the industry itself still hasn't reached the levels of 2012, Ward said.

Nationwide, there were 73,000 wind jobs last year, compared to 85,000 in 2012, according to AWEA.

While specific data was unavailable, Ward and Prior said it is safe to say a portion of the jobs added last year represented investors from previous years returning to the industry following the PTC's renewal.

Wind energy jobs are again in a state of flux, as the PTC expired at the end of last year, which means manufacturing jobs are projected to again see a lull in production, with the bigger effects more noticeable next year.

'There will be more installation at the end of this year, but then you'll start to see kind of a leveling off if there's no extension,' Ward said.

Conclusion

While added context in Iowa's wind industry trends better explain the large increase in jobs last year, O'Malley's claim on job growth remains accurate, albeit a little off on the numbers, according to data.

The background helps us see that many of those jobs are likely investors returning to the market following the PTC renewal, and not entirely new growth.

O'Malley may have made a simple math error when looking at Iowa's wind-power growth, but we give his comment an A.

Criteria

The Fact Checker team checks statements made by Iowa political candidates/office holders and by national candidates/office holders about Iowa. Claims must be independently verifiable. We give statements grades from A to F based on accuracy and context.

If you spot a claim you think needs fact checking, email us at factchecker@sourcemedia.net.