If We Had A Real Think Tank In Delaware…

…they’d be working overtime to make sure that this comes to fruition:

Company president Peter Mandelstam (of NRG Bluewater) says the goal is to bring the supply chain along with the windfarm, not merely to import foreign-made components.

What that means (for those more accustomed to reading the CRI silliness) is that there are people out there trying to make sure that not only does Bluewater Wind get built here, but that it brings with it manufacturing of turbines and other components to supply other windpower projects. These are likely to be truly well-paying manufacturing jobs — with benefits and everything — manufacturing very high value goods. The Markell Administration has had what looks to me as a real full court press on this.

Capturing this manufacturing right at the ground floor means that we’ll have years of good employment opportunities for some Delawareans. We won’t be getting anywhere near this kind of long-term benefit from any of the dirty energy that the CRI is trying to fight for. And manufacturing is something of the Holy Grail in current American economic policy. We need to better oriented to selling stuff to other people and you can’t do that unless you make stuff to buy.

Then again, the CRI doesn’t give a damn about Delaware getting a serious foothold in this new business. They only care about ensuring their full employment by making sure their fossil fuel funders get their money’s worth.