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Wind energy supporters are starting to change their strategy as they market the industry to Louisiana lawmakers, Louisiana Illuminator reports.
Proponents focused on marketing the economic value of investments into wind to the Louisiana House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment on Monday. House representatives last year asked the committee to gather information on solar and wind energy development. The discussions are a pivot from the climate-friendly messaging advocates had focused on in the past.
Jenny Netherton, with the Southeastern Wind Coalition, acknowledged Louisiana’s fossil fuel legacy when she made her pro-wind points to lawmakers.
“This is a once in a generation economic opportunity, the same way that Louisiana has capitalized on oil and gas,” she said.
Rep. Joe Orgeron, R-Larose, has authored multiple laws aimed at giving offshore wind development a foothold in Louisiana. Orgeron and other offshore wind energy backers have stressed how the existing workforce devoted to oil and gas exploration can also build and install wind farms in coastal waters.
“Now we finally have another energy job that’s not related to the price of oil and gas that communities can make a living from,” said Orgeron, the committee’s vice-chairman.
