After Gutenberg

Unfortunately, wind power installations are contraindicated for the Southeastern United States, otherwise, we would have a federal, Renewable Portfolio Standard.

Wind power is an important means to address concerns about global warming and rising fuel prices, said AWEA (American Wind Energy Assocication), which released revised projections for wind power in the United States. The press release comes at a time when national policy on alternative energy could help assure that strong growth in wind power continues. The press release noted that a federal production tax credit for renewable energy will expire in December next year.

According to the American Wind Energy Association, the US wind industry is on track to complete a total of 4,000 megawatts worth of installations in 2007, or about enough to power 1 million average homes. The newly announced projection is that installations will jump 63 percent; it exceeds AWEA’s previous expectation for the year by about 33 percent.

Texas continues to lead in wind power installments with California, Iowa and Minnesota close behind. Although on average more expensive than other alternatives to coal-fired electric power generation, AWEA contends that for some areas, wind power costs roughly the same as traditional power from the grid. Wind power is a very clean source of electricity, can be an extra source of energy / income for farmers, and can be built in a relatively short period of time.

Climate Progress provides more information about the growth of wind power in Texas, Colorado and Washington:

• Texas again added the largest amount of new wind power generation (600 MW)
• Colorado installed 264 MW and now ranks as the state with the 6th-largest amount of wind power generation
• Washington, with 140 MW of new wind capacity, pulls ahead of Minnesota into 4th place.

Still, wind energy is less popular in the United States than elsewhere. As recently noted growth in wind energy leads other renewable energy sources in Spain. Planet Ark, “Your Daily Guide to Helping the Planet”, reports:

While wind power growth has been strong in recent years, it only generates a tiny fraction of US electricity. Last year alternative power sources, including solar energy, but excluding hydropower, generated 2.4 percent of US electricity, according to the the US Energy Information Administration.