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Some 26 tons of steel go into the average windmill, according to the United Steelworkers of America.

So a new windmill means jobs for steelworkers, and it means clean energy, too. Union members and conservationists alike see the benefits of building things like windmills, and a report released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress sets out the economic boost that an investment in “green” jobs would give Montana and 33 other states.

“The added bonus is that we can help curtail the worst effects of climate change, and I think that’s something that’s very important to our future,” said Bob Clark, associate regional representative with the Sierra Club.

The Center for American Progress is a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, D.C. The report, “Green Recovery,” calls on Congress to launch a nationwide energy transformation with a $100 billion shot in the arm. Such investments would revive an economy crippled by a weak dollar and sluggish housing market, according to the authors. Tax credits and direct spending on things like solar power, advanced biofuels and mass transit also would address the climate crisis, the report says.

The report comes as presidential candidates confront voters largely displeased with the economy. In June, the unemployment rate in Montana was 4.1 percent. Some Montana workers and conservationists believe the report’s recommendations can prop up a wide base - everything from union workers to advocates for sage grouse. Some also don’t want to see green jobs funded on the backs of other industries.

Available at www.americanprogress.org, the report cites the following data for Montana:

n a $279 million share of a national $100 billion program

n the creation of 6,335 jobs

n and, an unemployment rate lowered to 2.9 percent with “green recovery.”

The investments in Montana would be spent like this, according to the report:

- energy efficient building retrofits: $112 million

- mass transit and freight rail: $56 million

- smart grid (losing less electricity in transmission): $28 million;

- and, wind power, solar power and advanced biofuels: $84 million.

Such investments would require a labor force of civil engineers, electrical engineers, agricultural and forestry supervisors, rail track layers, conductors, roofers, insulation workers, machinists, computer software engineers and many others.

Roy Houseman, president of the United Steelworkers Local 885, Missoula, said the plan is good news for all unions. A new wind power facility in Butte, for example, will pay workers more than a living wage, he said.

“We see it as pertinent to support any sort of development of new jobs and especially new manufacturing jobs,” Houseman said.

Investments in cleaner energy also bode well for sensitive birds, such as sage grouse, said Amy Cilimburg, director of bird conservation and global warming organizer for Montana Audubon. The birds compete with energy development for land.

Montana Audubon isn’t an economic development group, but Cilimburg said its members care about the issue all the same because it affects their cause - birds and their habitats.

“We don’t pretend to be economists. But Montanans who care about wildlife are increasingly recognizing the link between economy, energy and ecology,” Cilimburg said.

The report touts its recommendations as fixes to the climate crisis but doesn’t calculate greenhouse emissions reductions. However, a spokesman for the center characterized reductions as “significant,” as the investments hit key producers.

The Sierra Club’s Clark said the real potential comes because the investments would be paid for through cap-and-trade auctions - and that’s a problem according to Dave Galt, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association.

Galt said the petroleum industry provides 12,000 jobs in Montana and has a $9 billion impact on the economy. Montanans need to develop all kinds of energy sources - green or otherwise, he said.

Galt also said he can’t support investments in one industry at the expense of another. That means he doesn’t support a boost to solar and wind power if it’s paid for on the back of coal with cap-and-trade credits.

“I just think it’s sad that a group like the Sierra Club would justify that it’s OK when the impact is so profound to those people. I really do think that’s a travesty,” Galt said.

According to CAP, the “green recovery” investments would be a “down payment” on a program recommended by the center in 2007: “Capturing the Energy Opportunity: Creating a Low-Carbon Economy.”

Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.

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