Tom Udall: “I say to Senator Sanders, the thing we should focus on, when it comes to wind farms, is how much these wind farms can be…”

“I say to Senator Sanders, the thing we should focus on, when it comes to wind farms, is how much these wind farms can be expanded in terms of jobs. The average wind farm in America built today has 50 large wind turbines. Each turbine can produce electricity to power roughly 500 homes, even accounting for the variability of the winds. So the average wind farm can power about 25,000 homes. The average wind farm, then, produces many other benefits. This is what is remarkable to me: There is $20 million in construction payroll in a year from an average wind farm; $875,000 per year to rural local school districts; and also $280,000 per year to rural county governments; $150,000 per year in ongoing direct payroll for employees; $1.5 million in contract labor payroll; and $300,000 to $600,000 per year in royalties to land owners, farmers, and ranchers. So when we talk about wind--wind power--what we are talking about is American jobs, clean energy jobs, growing the economy, and it mystifies me that our friends on the Republican side and in the House are saying: These things are going to expire in 2 weeks, and there is no hurry to push them, to put them in place, and to move it. Is that the Senator's understanding, that they are saying we are going to let them expire?”