America is the Saudi Arabia of wind. According to a 2007 Department of Energy study, building out our wind capacity in the Great Plains - from northern Texas to the Canadian border - would produce 138,000 new jobs in the first year, and more than 3.4 million new jobs over a ten-year period, while also generating as much as 20 percent of our needed electricity.
No discussion about America’s energy future is complete without including wind energy. From Jay Leno putting a windmill atop his garage, to huge wind farms like those in Sweetwater, Texas, wind is a clean, abundant source of energy for America.
According to the American Wind Energy Association:
The U.S. wind energy industry installed over 8,500 megawatts (MW) in 2008, expanding the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50 percent in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $17 billion into the economy. These new wind projects account for roughly 42 percent of all the new power-producing capacity added nationally in 2008.
While many industries have been cutting back on their workforce, about 85,000 people are employed in the wind industry today, up from 50,000 a year ago, holding jobs in areas as varied as turbine component manufacturing, construction and installation of wind turbines, wind turbine operations and maintenance, as well as legal and marketing services.
Additionally, the land on which the wind turbines are located are rented from the ranchers and farmers who own it. Much like a natural gas or oil well, the landowner shares in the money generated by the sale of the electricity, thus further adding to the economic well-being of the community in which the wind farm is located.
Wind is a reliable source of electrical energy around the world. In Europe, Denmark receives over 20 percent of its electricity from wind energy, and in 2008 Germany received over 7 percent of its electricity from the wind. Spain had periods in 2008 when wind energy provided over 40 percent of its electricity. In the U.S., Minnesota and Iowa both get over 7 percent of their electricity from wind energy.
From an environmental standpoint, electricity generation is the largest industrial source of air pollution in the U.S. and demand for electricity continues to grow. The United States produces six billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. By 2030, this number could reach 6.75 billion metric tons. 40 percent of CO2 emissions are generated by the electric power sector.
Wind power generates no emissions, and displaces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that would otherwise be emitted by fossil fuel-fired electric generation. The clean generation provided by wind capacity installed through 2008 will displace approximately 44 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. One megawatt-hour (MWh) of wind energy produced reduces CO2 emissions by roughly 1,200 pounds. A single 1.67-MW turbine produces over 5,000 MWh of electricity, and so each turbine reduces CO2 emissions by over 3,000 tons.
