The dispute over whether or not a Texas wind farm receiving federal subsidies would source its components from a Chinese manufacturer has come to a more agreeable solution, with the partnering companies agreeing to open a 1,000 person turbine factory in the US and offering as an explanation their intent all along to source 86 percent of the installation's components by weight from within the US.
The new turbine factory won't provide the parts for this particular wind farm, but it seems like a better solution than either cancelling a wind power array or going on as if nothing had happened. Considering how unresponsive corporations can be to public protests over their business practices, I'm taking this as a win and going home.
Thing is, a wind turbine is a big, complicated gearbox with nacelle blades sitting on top of an enormous pole secured firmly to the ground by a big block of concrete or similar. Saying that you're going to get 86 percent of your components by weight in the US can easily mean, and does in this case, getting mostly the heavy and simple things here. So as much of an improvement as this outcome is, it's important to keep an eye on what American workers are getting pigeonholed into making.

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