In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where windmills are difficult to build because of state and local restrictions, an old-line manufacturer is taking advantage of the wind to save jobs.

PPG Industries near Shelby is spending $20 million over three years to manufacture fiberglass for windmill blades. The Western North Carolina economy can use the boost, after suffering job losses from a raft of layoffs this decade.

"It probably lets us hold on to jobs," said Greg McInnis, PPG's production manager. "The North American wind energy market is growing."

A growing worldwide market for windmills could translate into new jobs in North Carolina and other manufacturing states hurt from plant closings, according to a federally funded 2004 study.

South Carolina and North Carolina are 10 and 11 on the list of states that would benefit most, according to the study from the Renewable Energy Policy Project.

Demand for wind-powered electricity is up globally. It has been popular in Europe for several decades, and demand is increasing in Asia and North America as pressure mounts to cut greenhouse gases from coal-fired plants. Wind-generated power is considered clean, and windmill construction cheaper and easier than coal-fired plants.

But obstacles remain, such as finding places where people are willing to accept the gangly machines that some say kill birds and mar landscapes. And the popularity of wind, coupled with surging worldwide demand for electricity, has taxed companies that make the turbines, causing a worldwide shortage and price increases.

A federal tax credit for producing wind-powered electricity expires at the end of next year, though it has been renewed by Congress in the past. Some manufacturers, waiting to see what will happen, are cautious about ramping up production.

Even so, a global bull market is under way, and demand for parts is skyrocketing, said Bob Leker, renewables program manager for the N.C. State Energy Office.

The PPG factory, about an hour's drive west of Charlotte, used to rely on making fiberglass for boats, shower stalls and other molded products. But Chinese competition reduced the factory's workforce from 2,000 five years ago to about 700, where it is holding steady, McInnis said.

The workers now make a high-tech fiberglass in an upgraded furnace that a Norwegian partner, Devold AMT, weaves into sheets used for windmill blades. The future is looking bright as demand for the windmill blade material increases by about 30 percent a year, McInnis said.

Mandates and money

Helping fuel the domestic wind-energy demand are government requirements. Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., mandate a certain percentage of electricity come from renewable energy, such as solar and wind. So power companies have to create it or buy it from other sources. The N.C. General Assembly is likely to pass its own version this year. And Congress is considering a national standard.

But more than a government mandate, wind's growing popularity is powered by potential profits, giving it a leg up over some of its green cousins.

More utilities are investing in wind production to make a profit. Duke Energy this year purchased Tierra Energy, a wind company based in Austin, Texas. Duke plans to sell the wind-generated power in some Western states.

"The return on the [wind] business is quite attractive," said Wouter van Kempen, president of Duke Energy Generation Services.

Investment in new U.S. wind projects increased from $50 million in 2000 to $3.5 billion last year, when U.S. wind energy accounted for 0.07 percent of domestic power production, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The 2004 jobs study from the Renewable Energy Policy Project analyzed the location of companies already able to produce one or more of 20 major parts needed to construct a windmill turbine. It concluded that if windmill installations increased eight-fold, North Carolina could reap 4,661 new jobs and $1.55 billion in new investment.

Ethan Berkwits, director of marketing for the Winslow Green Growth Fund, said clean energy investment used to be a fad, but hard government mandates and improved technology have changed the story. The company has one-third of the fund's portfolio in renewable energy, he said.

"When our fund was first launched a few years back, there weren't many companies to choose from," Berkwits said. "Now, on a monthly basis, we're seeing new ones."