Monday 2 November 2009

It's a ill wind....

... and who does it blow good for here?  Interesting article in today's International Herald Tribune, about China's role in the manufacture of wind turbines for a wind farm in Texas.
It's always going to be hard keeping the manufacturing jobs in the US, given that the average manufacturing wage in China is $US 100 per month , about 3% of the US average.  But is that all bad?  Remember China's Minister of Commerce, our mate Bo Xilai, pointing out some time back that in a pair of Nikes, retailing in the US for around  $US 300, China's factories making the shoes only got a few dollars.  Most of the money went to the front end (research, development and design) and the back end (marketing, sales and profit), all of which were in the US.  Could the same be so for wind energy?  And what do the Green Inc critics of the detail suggest should be done?  Protectionism?  Check out North Korea to see where that leads....

Chinese role in wind farm creates anger
By Tom Zeller Jr Nov 01 2009
News last week of the first major influx of Chinese capital and wind turbine manufacturing expertise into the renewable energy market in the United States—a600-megawatt wind farm planned for the plains of west Texas—had many readers of the Green Inc. blog in a state of agitation.
‘‘I don’t understand why China is exporting wind energy to the U.S.,’’ wrote Mark from New York City.
Read on…