How does wind produce electricity?

• Just as fossil-fueled plants use steam or combustion gases to turn electricity-producing rotors, wind turbines have large blades to catch the wind, turning rotors that convert the kinetic energy in the wind into electricity.
  
  
• Wind turbines commonly begin to produce power at a wind speed of 10-12 miles per hour. Wind plants produce electricity only when the wind blows, so if the wind is not blowing, the plant is not producing electricity.

Where is wind the most abundant in the US?

• Wind energy is very abundant many parts of the United States. Wind resources are characterized by wind-power density classes, ranging from class 1 (the lowest) to class 7 (the highest). Good wind resources (class 3 and above) which have an average annual wind speed of at least 13 miles per hour, are found along the east coast, the Appalachian Mountain chain, the Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest, and some other locations. (National Renewable Energy Lab)
  
  
• The three states with the largest wind resources are North Dakota, Texas, and Kansas.
  

  To see a map of the Annual Average Wind Power of the US, click here.

How much wind generating capacity currently exists in the US?

• Current installed capacity in the US reached 4,258 MW at the end of 2001, including wind installations in 26 states. (American Wind Energy Association)
  

How much wind generating capacity currently exists worldwide?

• Some 3,800 megawatts (MW) of new utility-scale wind energy generating capacity were brought online worldwide during the year 2000, making total installed capacity about 17,300 MW at the end of the year, enough to generate some 37 billion kWh of electricity each year. (American Wind Energy Association)

  To view the American Wind Energy Association's Global Wind Energy Market Report 2000, click here.
  

How much wind generating potential exists in the US?

• The American Wind Energy Association estimates that U.S. installed wind capacity can reach 30,000 megawatts (MW) in 2010 (compared to just 4.258 MW today), generating 105 billion kWh annually. This is enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 10 million homes, and to displace 100 million metric tons of CO2, or 18% of the utility sector's excess emissions.
  
  
• According to the US Department of Energy, the theoretical wind power potential of the United States is much greater than is currently being developed. North Dakota, alone, has enough strong winds to supply 36% of the electricity of the lower 48 states. (National Renewable Energy Lab)

How much wind generating potential exists worldwide?

• According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the world's winds could theoretically supply the equivalent of 5,800 quadrillion BTUs (quads) of energy each year- more than 15 times current world energy demand. (American Wind Energy Association)

How much is being invested in wind power development?

• Wind energy is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world. Between 1998 and 1999, over $2.5 billion worth of wind power equipment was installed worldwide.(Union of Concerned Scientists)
  
  
• Over $1.7 billion worth of new wind generating equipment was installed in 16 states in the US in 2001.

Is the cost of wind power competitive with other sources of electricity?

• Currently, wind power costs between 3 and 6 cents per kWh to generate. By 2005, it is expected to be closer to 2 cents, making it one of the cheapest resources available. (American Wind Energy Association)
  
  
• Over the last 20 years, the cost of electricity from utility-scale wind systems has dropped by almost 85%. In the early 1980s, when the first utility-scale turbines were installed, wind-generated electricity cost as much as 30 cents per kilowatt-hour. Now, state-of-the-art wind power plants are generating power at costs between 3 and 6 cents per kWh, a price that is competitive with many conventional energy technologies. (American Wind Energy Association)
  
  
• Wind energy is currently the lowest-cost emerging renewable energy resource. (American Wind Energy Association)

How much does wind power development cost in the US?

• Wind plants typically cost approximately $1000 per kilowatt of installed capacity.

What is the energy payback time for a wind turbine?

• Several studies have concluded that wind energy has one of the shortest energy payback times of any energy technology. A wind turbine typically takes only a few months (3-8) to pay back the energy needed for its fabrication, installation, operation and retirement.

How much land is needed for a utility-scale wind plant?

• Wind turbines occupy only a small fraction of the land area across which they are sited. For a utility-scale wind plant, only 2.5 acres per megawatt capacity or less of the siting area is actually occupied by turbines, access roads, and other equipment. The rest can be used for other purposes or left in its natural state. For this reason, wind power development is ideally suited to farming areas. (American Wind Energy Association)

What is "green pricing"?

• Green pricing programs are voluntary utility-sponsored programs that allow electricity consumers to support the development of renewable resources. Participating customers pay a premium on their electric bill to cover the extra cost of the renewable energy. Participating utilities use the revenues gained to purchase power from renewable sources or invest in their own renewable energy development. To date, more than 90 utilities in the United States have either implemented or announced plans to offer a green pricing option. (US Department of Energy)

What is a Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS)?

• A Renewable Portfolio Standard is a policy which requires that a specific percentage of a utility's generating capacity or energy sales must be derived from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, landfill gas, geothermal, and biomass. Most commonly implemented at the state level, Renewable Portfolio Standards are emerging at the federal and local levels as a flexible, market-driven strategy to promote investment into renewable energy.
  

What are net metering and net billing?

• Net Metering is the practice of using a standard electrical meter to record the flow of energy back and forth between a home electricity generator and the utility's power grid. The meter turns forward when the household is consuming electricity from the grid and then backward when the household is generating power to the grid and calculates the net consumption or production of electricity. In effect, net metering laws allow renewable energy producers to interconnect with utility grids and to receive credit for the energy they place on the grid.
  
  
• Net billing agreements allow the consumer to buy electricity from the utility for only the net electricity consumed if they were in the "negative", or consumed more than they produced. Some net billing agreements allow home generators to sell excess electricity to the utility at a fixed rate if they were in the "positive" or produced more than they consumed.

Is wind power good for the economy?

• Wind power supplies affordable, inexhaustible energy to the economy, contributing to fuel diversity and domestic self-sufficiency.
  
  
• The U.S. wind industry currently directly employs more than 2,000 people, supplying more jobs per unit of energy produced than other forms of energy. (American Wind Energy Association)
  
  
• Wind energy greatly reduces the environmental impacts per unit of energy produced as compared with other forms of energy production. Environmental costs are becoming an increasingly important factor in utility resource planning decisions.
  
  
• Wind energy contributes long-term income to ranchers and farmers who own the land on which windfarms are built.

Why is wind a clean energy source?

• Wind power does not produce air pollutants, greenhouse gases, or generate solid waste on a day-to-day basis. On a life-cycle basis (i.e., "cradle to grave"), emissions from the production, distribution, and disposal of wind turbines are among the smallest of any energy technology.

What impact does non-renewable electricity production have on the environment?

• Electricity generation is the largest industrial polluter in the country. Electricity generation currently produces:
  • about two-thirds of the annual US emissions of sulfur dioxide, the main cause of acid rain and a major component of air pollution in the US.
  • about 30 percent of the nitrogen oxides, which combine with organic compounds in sunlight to form smog, and which stress forest ecosystems.
  • about one-third of the carbon dioxide, the leading heat-trapping gas that causes global warming.
  • toxic metal emissions (such as mercury and lead) and nuclear waste. (American Wind Energy Association)

How much impact does wind power have on air pollution emissions in the US?

• The 1700 MW of wind power capacity installed in 2001 will displace emissions of three million tons of CO2 and more than 27,000 tons of noxious air pollutants annually. (American Wind Energy Association)
  

How much of an impact could wind power have on air pollution emissions in the US?

• Development of 10% of the wind potential in the 10 windiest U.S. states would provide more than enough energy to displace emissions from the nation's coal-fired power plants and eliminate the nation's major source of acid rain; reduce total US emissions of CO2 by almost a third and world emissions of CO2 by 4 %; and help contain the spread of asthma and other respiratory diseases aggravated or caused by air pollution. (American Wind Energy Association)

Are there any negative environmental impacts of wind power production?

• Bird deaths have been a significant problem for wind turbines at only two locations: Altamont Pass in California and Tarifa, Spain. Studies show that bird deaths can be reduced through technological development or by properly siting wind plants. (US Department of Energy)
  
  
• Like all mechanical systems, wind turbines produce some noise when they operate. In recent years, engineers have made design changes to reduce the noise from wind turbines. Additionally, proper siting and insulating materials can be used to minimize noise impacts.
  
  
• Because they must generally be sited in exposed places, wind turbines are often highly visible. Proper citing decisions can help to avoid any aesthetic impacts to the landscape.
  
  
• Wind production does not impact farming or grazing activities.