The White House
Climate Change
The Department of Energy recently released two new reports that make one thing clear: We’re hitting record highs for U.S. wind energy production and manufacturing.
Wind energy is the fastest growing source of power in the United States — representing more than 40 percent of all new U.S. electric generation capacity in 2012. We’ve more than doubled wind and solar power generation in the past four years.
President Obama has made clear that the growth of clean, renewable wind energy is a critical part of his Climate Action Plan, and we’re committed to seeing wind energy production double once again.
Check out the role wind energy is playing in the infographic below, or visit Energy.gov for more.
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Friday, August 16, 2012 |
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Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About WindThe Department of Energy put together a list of the top ten things most people don’t know about wind energy. Check it out:
10. Human civilizations have harnessed wind power for thousands of years. Early forms of windmills used wind to crush grain or pump water. Now, modern wind turbines use the wind to create electricity. Learn how here.
9. A wind turbine has as many as 8,000 different components.
8. Wind turbines are big. A wind turbine blade can be up to 150 feet long, and a turbine tower can be over 250 feet tall, almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
7. Higher wind speeds mean more electricity, and wind turbines are getting taller to reach higher altitudes where it’s even windier. See the Energy Department’s website to find average wind speeds in your state or hometown.
6. Most of the components of wind turbines installed in the United States are manufactured here. Facilities for building wind turbine parts are located in more than 40 states, and the U.S. wind energy industry currently employs 75,000 people.
5. The technical resource potential of the winds above U.S. coastal waters is enough to provide over 4,000 gigawatts of electricity, or approximately four times the generating capacity of the current U.S. electric power system. Although not all of these resources will be developed, this represents a major opportunity to provide power to highly-populated coastal cities. See what the Energy Department is doing to develop offshore wind in the United States.
4. The United States generates more wind energy than any other country except China, and wind accounts for 35 percent of all newly installed U.S. electricity generation capacity over the last four years.
3. The United States’ wind power capacity reached 47,000 megawatts by the end of 2011 and has since grown to 50,000 megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power over 12 million homes annually — as many homes as in the entire state of California — and represents an 18-fold increase in capacity since 2000.
2. Wind energy is affordable. Wind prices for power contracts signed in 2011 are 50 percent lower than those signed in 2009, and levelized wind prices (the price the utility pays to buy power from a wind farm) are as low as 3 cents per kilowatt-hour in some areas of the country.
1. As much as 20 percent of our nation’s electricity could come from wind energy by 2030 but continued support for clean energy tax creditsis critical to achieving this target. That’s why President Obama is calling for an extension on the Production Tax Credit — to support wind producers in the U.S. and continue to help drive the wind industry’s growth.Get Updates
To learn more about the President’s vision for a more secure energy future and sign up to get updates, please visit: WhiteHouse.gov/energy. |
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Show Your Support for Wind Energy!
Let Congress know that a strong production tax creditfor wind power is good for America and good for our economy.
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Urge Congress to Support Wind Power!
Dear Carmen,
Using more clean, renewable electricity from sources such as the sun and wind will increase our energy independence, save consumers money, and reduce our global warming emissions. One of the primary drivers of the growth in wind energy in the United States is the federal production tax credit (PTC), which gives developers tax incentives for generating energy from renewable sources.
Despite the PTC being a driving force of wind development, the federal government has allowed it to expire on three separate occasions since 1999. These lapses in the PTC led to a boom-bust cycle that drastically slowed the wind power industry for many months at a time, costing jobs and economic development opportunities.
The current PTC for wind power is set to expire at the end of 2012. The expiration of the PTC threatens one of the country’s fastest growing clean energy industries and could put tens of thousands of Americans out of work.
Please ask Congress to extend the PTC today.
WWW.UCSUSA.ORG
Extending the production tax credit will help maintain the wind industry’s access to financing, allow developers to begin planning installations for 2013, and ensure that the best and most cost-effective projects are built. Wind power is a clean, homegrown energy source that improves public health and poses little threat to the environment while creating jobs and boosting local economies.
Urge Congress to extend the PTC. The continued growth of the industry can support 54,000 American wind jobs through 2016.
Take Action Today! WWW.UCSUSA.ORG
Thank you for your continued work to promote the transition to a clean energy economy.
Sincerely,
Megan Rising
National Field Organizer
UCS Climate & Energy Program |
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