FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. — Three years after he campaigned at a wind turbine plant in Fairless Hills, President Barack Obama returned Wednesday pitching the promise of energy independence.

Obama met about 400 workers and guests in a warehouse at Gamesa Technology, a Spanish company that makes giant turbines that use wind to generate electricity. He talked about moving the nation toward cleaner sources of energy.

With giant turbine cylinders as a backdrop, the president pointed to the success at the Gamesa as a sign of the potential of clean energy.

The plant sits on the former U.S. Steel Fairless Works site and employs 800 in Pennsylvania.

“Buildings that were dark, they are now humming again,” the president said. “We’re going to have to out-innovate the world. And this plant is a good example of that.”

Obama has set a goal of relying on non-oil energy sources for 80 percent of U.S. electricity use by the year 2035. On Wednesday, he cautioned that it’s going to be tough to transition from the oil-dependent economy.

And Gamesa assembly worker Jerry Holt provided the perfect example when he stood up to ask the president what can be done about rising gas prices, which now average $3.70 a gallon.

“Gas prices? They’re going to still fluctuate until we can start making these broader changes, and that’s going to take a couple of years to have serious effect,” Obama said, before asking what Holt drives.

The answer: not one, but two SUVs.

“If you’re complaining about the price of gas and you’re only getting 8 miles a gallon, you know,” Obama said while laughing, “... you might want to think about a trade-in.”