TECO-Westinghouse Motor Company, a motor and generator manufacturer, has gone with the wind, to the Texas Capitol, with a 72-ton wind turbine.
The company, which manufactures wind turbines at its Round Rock plant, sent company officials and the turbine Wednesday as part of the Texas Energy Future conference at the State Capitol.
"The future's going to be good. Green energy's going to be very dominant in the U.S.," TECO-Westinghouse Director of Operations Richard Fesmire said.
TECO-Westinghouse recently took the wind industry by storm, mass producing 60- to 70-ton turbines.
It's a business where the company wanted to get on board, even
during tight economic times.
"When the economy gets going again, this is one industry in the U.S. that will probably lead the way in job creation and less
dependency on foreign fuels. It's just a matter of time," Fesmire said.
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Wind Turbines
As News 8's Karina Kling reports, it's one part of a plan, renewable energy enthusiasts are using to lobby legislators to go green.
 
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Currently, the company is partnering with Texas State Technical College to train future technicians.
"The demand from the industry is overwhelming. Every student would have a job if they graduated today," Division Chair for Wind Energy at TSTC, Brian Hahn, said.
That kind of statistic is what renewable energy enthusiasts were trying to get across to legislators at the Capitol, to help create more green jobs and clean power across the state.
Andrew Lockhart works with the turbine company DeWind, which is working with TECO-Westinghouse at the Round Rock plant.
"There's always going to be challenges in getting things through the political side of things, but I think we're starting to show the benefits of this," Lockhart said.
TECO-Westinghouse officials said they expect to hire up to 100
manufacturing jobs as the wind turbine business grows.
