Wind Energy Facts and Resources

Thanks to recent advances in technology, wind energy is now a multi-billion dollar international industry and considered to be the fastest growing, cleanest energy source in the world. Wind energy is abundant, knows no borders, does not require large quantities of water, and produces neither air- nor water-borne waste. Wind is also constant in cost and can thus help to stabilize US energy markets, smoothing out the volatility of supply and pricing of conventional fossil fuels such as natural gas.  In May of 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy released a first-of-its kind report, examining the technical feasibility of harnessing wind power to provide up to 20 percent of the nation’s total electricity needs by 2030.

“DOE’s wind report is a thorough look at America’s wind resource, its industrial capabilities, and future energy prices, and confirms the viability and commercial maturity of wind as a major contributor to America’s energy needs, now and in the future,” DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy Andy Karsner, said. “To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security, clean power generation at the gigawatt-scale will be necessary, and will require us to take a comprehensive approach to scaling renewable wind power, streamlining siting and permitting processes, and expanding the domestic wind manufacturing base.”

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in 2008, the U.S. wind energy industry brought over 8,500 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity online, increasing the nation’s cumulative total by 50% to over 25,300 MW and pushing the U.S. above Germany as the country with the largest amount of installed wind power capacity. The new installations place the U.S. on a trajectory to generate 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030 from wind energy as long as the industry continues to garner long-term policy support.

The growth in 2008 channeled an investment of some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the country along with natural gas. The new wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 42% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally during the year, according to initial estimates, and will avoid nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions--the equivalent of taking over 7 million cars off the road. The amount that the industry brought online in the 4th quarter alone – 4,313 MW – exceeds annual additions for every year except 2007. In all, wind power generating capacity in the U.S. now stands at 25,369 MW, producing enough electricity to power the equivalent of close to 7 million households and strengthening our national electricity supply with a clean, inexhaustible, homegrown source of energy.

General information on the behavior of wind, the history of wind power, the physics of electricity, the nuts and bolts of turbines, environmental and siting issues involved with wind farm design, and much more can be found at the following sites - representing government, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry:

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The U.S. Dept of Energy

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

The University of MA Renewable Energy Laboratory

Wind Facts

The American Wind Energy Association

The Canadian Wind Energy Association

The European Wind Energy Association

The Danish Wind Industry Association

Power of Wind