A new University of Missouri study has compared rural counties with renewable power plants to those without and found those with wind projects saw economic output, or GDP, increase about 7%.
Counties with solar projects saw employment and wages increase by 10% to 20% in the utilities, construction and transportation sectors.
Despite concerns that renewable energy projects could take farmland out of production, researchers found that neither wind nor solar development was associated with declines in agricultural GDP, employment or wages.
In February, a wind industry worker who attended President Trump's State of the Union address told Scripps News that Trump administration policies have stalled projects and threatened renewable energy jobs.
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“In my time at Revolution Wind, we’ve been the victim of two stop work orders,” said Thomas Kilday. “... It’s difficult to reconcile because we just want to be able to do the work. We’re proud of the work that we do. We’re hard workers and we want to be able to have the ability to do it.”
