Renewable Energy Job Outlooks

Sustainable Business Oregon,a publication of the Portland Business Journal, recently reported that three companies will co-locate in Northwest Portland to create a distribution hub for biofuels made from sources such as recycled cooking oil. The Portland Development Commission estimates that the companies will create a combined total of about 21 new jobs.

One of the three firms -- Oregon Oils -- collects used cooking oil from 1,200 Portland-area customers, which primarily include restaurants. Beaver Biodiesel, another involved company, is a biofuels manufacturer with a production capacity of 1.2million gallons per year. The company has worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to produce biofuels from high-grade camelina oil supplied by Oregon growers.

The website also reported today that Vestas, the international wind turbine manufacturing company that has its North American sales and service headquarters in Portland, may be taken over by two rival Chinese firms. Vestas has been facing financial uncertainty due to the loss of the U.S. Production Tax Credit, among other factors. There was no indication of what impact, if any, the takeover would have on Oregon-based Vestas employees.