Wind Power
Generating electricity from wind turbines is called wind power. Wind is a free, clean energy source that provided 0.36 percent of U.S. energy production in 2006. In 2005, the United States installed more wind power capacity than any other nation – some 2,431 megawatts. As of January 2006, the United States had a total of 9,149 megawatts of wind power generation installed – enough to power 2.3 million households -- trailing only Germany (18,428 megawatts) and Spain (10,027 megawatts).
Wind power provides more than 30 percent of the energy needs in three German states and about 6.6 percent for Germany as a whole. Spain gets 6.5 percent of its electricity from wind power.
Wind is the second-fastest growing power source in the world, after solar power. Wind energy generation tripled between 2000-2005. In the United States, wind power costs have dropped 80 percent in the last 20 years. According to the American Wind Energy Association, “Now, state-of-the-art wind power plants can generate electricity for less than 5 cents/kWh with the Production Tax Credit in many parts of the U.S., a price that is competitive with new coal- or gas-fired power plants.”
To find out how to buy wind and other types of “green power” in your area, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Locator map, http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/locator/index.htm.
Sources:
- “Wind Energy Basics,” American Wind Energy Association Web site. Accessed Aug. 20, 2007. http://www.awea.org/faq/wwt_basics.html
- “Wind Power Blowing Strong,” Vital Signs 2006-2007, published by The Worldwatch Institute, 2006, p. 36-37.
