05/23/08 Getting Rural Boost From Foreign Investment

Getting Rural Boost From Foreign Investment. I'm Greg Martin as Line On Agriculture presents the Harvest Clean Energy Report. Rural American communities have been getting a big boost from distant shores thanks to alternative energy. These new energy sources are big business and many foreign companies are getting into the act according to Doug Badger, President of Western Strategies. BADGER: From a foreign investment standpoint what we are really starting to see is that there is a very favorable business and government environment in Oregon in particular and certainly around the northwest for companies that are in the renewable energy space if you will; companies that manufacture wind turbines, that are experimenting with wave energy, that are in the solar business, fuel cell technology; all of these emerging technologies  because there is such a favorable environment here and they're starting to locate here. These companies are finding it fertile ground for growing their businesses. BADGER: There's been a lot of discussion about outsourcing and U.S. plants building overseas to serve those markets but the reverse is also true and around the northwest there are thousands of workers who owe their paycheck to foreign businesses that decide to locate here. Companies like Vestas, a Denmark wind turbine manufacturer or the Germany based SolarWorld AG that is in the process of building the largest manufacturing plant in North America, are making their homes in the northwest. And according to Badger, while these companies are about making a profit, there is more to it than that. BADGER: It just so happens that they are motivated in large part by creating products and services that benefit the environment. And I think this is why renewable energy has become such an important economic tool around the northwest is it really allows people to marry their values to a for-profit endeavor. And for a lot of people that is something they have not been able to achieve. So they get to get up in the morning and do something they believe in while at the same time making a profit, creating these companies that are growing and employing more people. Many smaller communities are benefiting from the foreign dollar and as the renewable industry grows, so will the opportunities. For additional information on clean energy, visit harvestcleanenergy.org. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network. www.harvestcleanenergy.org