A banner year for U.S. wind power expansion

Source: Green Technology Daily

A record 10,010 megawatts of new wind capacity was installed in the United States last year, accounting for 39 percent of new electrical generation, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said in its annual report.

AWEA, the national trade organization for the wind industry, said that as of the end of 2009 the U.S. installed over 10,000 megawatts worth of wind turbines, enough wind power capacity to provide 2.4 million homes with electricity. (Interestingly, AWEA notes alongside that statistic that three large nuclear power plants could generate the same amount of electricity.)

In state rankings, Texas lead in both wind capacity and in largest wind farms installed.


Read more: http://www.greentechnologydaily.com/energy/682-a-banner-year-for-us-wind-power-expansion

It is actually rather attractive - sort of a sky blue and white. It is mounted on a pole and seems to pick up even the slightest breeze. Unfortunately, I'm just shy of the 1/2 acre zoning requirement to install one.

Thanks for the thread wpsedgwick.

on my drives back and forth from Indianapolis to Chicago.

The winds of the plains states are as golden as Texas Tea. My car gets blown all over the road up and down I-65 from Chicago to Lousiville. And there is nothing but cornfields between the cities. I know a handful of farmers that would gladly trade overproduction in corn for land rents on a windfarm.