Wind Power Industry Gaining Ground across U.S.

[jpak]

http://www.enn.com/alt.html?id=183

Colorado's hosting of Windpower 2005 comes amid major gains in the wind energy industry.The U.S. wind energy industry this year appears ready to break the previous record for installation of new projects with wind farms planned from New York to Arizona, the American Wind Energy Association reported in late April.

In its quarterly market outlook estimate, the trade group nudged its 2005 forecast for the expanding industry from "over 2,000 megawatts" of new capacity upward to "up to 2,500 megawatts." The estimates are based on a private survey of wind turbine manufacturer plans.

A megawatt of wind capacity generates about as much electricity as is used by 250-300 households, meaning the new forecast translates to the equivalent of about 700,000 homes.
"We are seeing a series of positive trends, from new major players entering the industry to strong economic activity in hard-hit rural areas," Randall Swisher, director of the Washington, D.C.-based trade group, said in a statement.

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"More states are looking seriously at wind energy these days as an engine of economic development and what they are seeing confirms a major study released last fall by the Renewable Energy Policy Project. It reported that boosting wind energy from 6,000 MW to 50,000 MW nationwide would create 150,000 manufacturing jobs. With its energy, economic, and environmental benefits, wind is the technology that is ready today to power America's future."

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[IChing]

1. right on

Thanks for the update

[izzie]

2. Sounds good to me.

When I was a kid even small farms had wind-mills. I can recall a few right now on small farms. I have seen the new big ones in Calif. and they look fine to me.

[Coastie for Truth]

3. I like wind turbines

Better then Hg from coal or body bags from Iraq (for oil).

[lakeguy]

4. the latest increase is likely due to the tax exemptions that

expire at the end of the year. let's hope that someone comes up with an energy bill that gives as much to the renewables as the fossil fuel pigs get. or, we could just stop subsidizing the highly profitable fossil fuel industry and give it all to alternative development. i won't hold my breath though...

[NNadir]

5. Gee, only 7,500 MW (when the wind is blowing) more and we'll have a GW.

I guess we can all go home now.

Some day, barring too much NIMBY like that which is stopping Cape Wind and the NIMBY trying to stop the wind farms off Long Island, we may have 1/500 of world nuclear capacity represented by wind power.

What an achievement! I guess the global climate change problem is solved.

This represents almost 2% of the current nuclear capacity now under construction, and almost 0.6% of the nuclear capacity that now exists. At this rate, the construction of wind power (assuming that windpower WOULD create 150,000 manufacturing jobs) will only fall behind nuclear construction at a rate of a mere 98% per year. This is a most excellent, since wind WOULD be a great success, and nuclear is obviously a failure. (We know nuclear is a failure, because everyone is building nuclear plants.)

This should stop the coal industry right in its tracks too. At least when the weather is good. When the wind is blowing. This new capacity which MAY be built, if everything is alright with it and it actually happens - and it will happen since it COULD happen and COULD as we know, is the same as IS, especially if it supports our viewpoint, no matter how ridiculous our viewpoint may be - is great! This capacity, if no one objects to the degradation of their views of the sea, or the plains, or the mountains, if no one stops it by mentioning the effect of wind turbines on the bat population out at sea, will provide great capacity right when its needed, you know, on those breezy days when everyone cranks up their air conditioning to make sure the cool breezes are really cool.

Nothing is cooler than how cool this is.