U.S. Tops in Wind Energy

According to a statistic released by the American Wind Energy Association, the U.S. is not the leading country in wind energy, passing Germany, after a record breaking year of wind energy market growth. The national trade association of country's wind industry says in 2008 the industry had another record growth year - the third record year in a row and generated more than $18 billion in revenues.

"Wind energy installations are well ahead of the curve for contributing 20% of the U.S. electric power supply by 2030 as envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy," Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association, Randall Swisher, said on December 26.

At the end of September, the U.S. had over 21,000 megawatts of wind capacity up and running, doubling the capacity from 2006. 21,000 megawatts of capacity are expected to generate over 60 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2009, enough to serve over 5.5 million American homes. This means that in 2009 wind power is estimated to displace the burning of 30.4 million short tons of coal - enough to fill a coal train that would stretch 2,000 miles from Washington, DC to the middle of Utah. AWEA also calculates the 60 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated by wind power next year will displace 91 million barrels of oil, or 560 billion cubic feet of natural gas- about nine percent of the natural gas used for electricity generation in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy reported that wind power could provide 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030, supporting 500,000 jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions as much taking 140 million vehicles off the road, and saving four trillion gallons of water.

As part of the $700 billion financial bailout law passed in October, production and investment tax credits that benefit the wind industry and other renewable energy industries were approved by Congress and singed into law. The tax credit package will extend the renewable energy production tax credit for one year and the investment tax credit for eight years.

In 2008, the wind industry and environmental groups forged a new alliance. On November, 20 conservation and environmental groups and wind energy companies announced the creation of the American Wind Wildlife Institute to facilitate timely and responsible development of wind energy while protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. AWWI to serve as example for other energy sectors by proactively addressing potential biodiversity impacts as wind energy is more widely deployed.

"Climate and energy are the issues of our time," said Julia Levin, global warming director at the National Audubon Society and the first chair of AWWI's board of directors. "AWWI will play a crucial role in developing the science, mapping and other tools needed to accelerate properly sited wind power development and begin reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions." "The expansion of wind power in the United States is essential to reduce heat-trapping emissions and limit the impacts of global warming on our nation's wildlife," said Dr. Peter Frumhoff, AWWI board member and director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "Our new institute will work to ensure that wind power and wildlife can both thrive."

The seven nonprofit founding organizations of AWWI represent more than 4.3 million members nationwide and include: Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Soceity, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists. The remaining 13 founding AWWI members are wind industry businesses. They include: AES Wind Generation, BP Wind Energy, Babcock & Brown, enXco, Clipper Windpower, E.ON, GE Energy, Horizon Wind Energy, Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA, Nordic Windpower, NRG Systems, Renewable Energy System Americas and Vestas Americas.

Source: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2008/2008-12-26-01.asp Date:26-12-08