Good News and Sobering News on Wind Energy
The good news over the last three or four years is that wind generation is being taken seriously in the United States. A number of European countries are way ahead of us in terms of total percentage of electricity produced by wind. And it will still be true for some time to come that Europe as a whole still generates more power from wind than we do. But Americans are finally making progress. Here's the story by AWEA: the American Wind Energy Association:
Like I said, this is good news. But we need to put it into perspective. For one thing, 31,000 MW is only a small percentage of our total generating capacity. In addition, as Americans over the next ten years turn more and more to hybrids, electric cars and plug-ins, we will need more electricity produced by wind and solar.
According to the EIA (part of the Department of Energy), the United States in 2007 had a maximum generating capacity from all sources of 994,888 MW. That's a lot of electricity. Unfortunately, some 75% of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels. We have a long ways to go to retire fossil fuels just for producing electricity.
We also will have to create a larger capacity to electrify our transportation. Luckily, cars need less energy in the form of electrical power than they do from gasoline and diesel, largely because so much of the energy from fossils fuels is lost in the form of heat.
Let's hope we can double the production of wind turbines in the next two or three years.
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported today in its third quarter (Q3) market report that the U.S. wind energy industry installed 1,649 megawatts (MW) of new power generating capacity in the third quarter—an amount higher than either the 2nd quarter of 2009 or the 3rd quarter of 2008—bringing the total capacity added this year to date to over 5,800 MW. AWEA also reported that wind turbine manufacturing still lags below 2008 levels, in both production and new announcements.
(snip)
The total wind power capacity now operating in the U.S. is over 31,000 MW, generating enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 9 million homes, avoiding the emissions of 57 million tons of carbon annually and reducing expected carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2.5%.
Like I said, this is good news. But we need to put it into perspective. For one thing, 31,000 MW is only a small percentage of our total generating capacity. In addition, as Americans over the next ten years turn more and more to hybrids, electric cars and plug-ins, we will need more electricity produced by wind and solar.
According to the EIA (part of the Department of Energy), the United States in 2007 had a maximum generating capacity from all sources of 994,888 MW. That's a lot of electricity. Unfortunately, some 75% of our electricity still comes from fossil fuels. We have a long ways to go to retire fossil fuels just for producing electricity.
We also will have to create a larger capacity to electrify our transportation. Luckily, cars need less energy in the form of electrical power than they do from gasoline and diesel, largely because so much of the energy from fossils fuels is lost in the form of heat.
Let's hope we can double the production of wind turbines in the next two or three years.
Labels: alternative energy, wind turbines
posted by Poechewe at 12:14 AM
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