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Nearly all studies suggest that the renewable energy area will continue to see significant growth over the next several decades. Listed below are some summaries for each individual renewable technology:

Wind

Iowa is third in the nation in wind production. For every Megawatt installed from wind, 22 new jobs are created There are existing plans for the development in Iowa of enough wind turbines to produce an additional 330 Megawatts of energy. In addition, there will be three additional wind turbine manufacturing plants built in Iowa over the next two years which will employ an estimated 700-800 workers. These plants have been built in Newton, West Branch and Cedar Rapids.

Photovoltaic (solar)

As of 2005, there were an estimated 20,000 workers directly employed by the photovoltaic industry in the United States.

By 2015, there are expected to be at least 28,000, to as many as 62,000 jobs in the solar industry, depending on the implementation of new governmental policies. By 2030, the industry as a whole will employ 59,000 to upwards of 260,000 individuals in the United States.4 
 
In Eastern Iowa, one photovoltaic panel dealer, the Root Cellar of Muscatine, reports that gross sales were 20 times greater in 2007 than they were just a year before. Another installation company in Northeast Iowa, Go Solar, reports similar increases in sales and installations and reports they “desperately need” trained technicians.
 
Biofuels Manufacturing

Iowa produces about 30% of the nations ethanol and is expected to roughly double its production capacity within the next few years. Iowa also leads the nation in biodiesel production and is a major producer of methane.