WIND POWER IN THE UNITED STATES

[frawin]

Wind power in the United States is a branch of the energy industry, expanding quickly over the last several years. Construction of new wind power generation capacity in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled 8,380 megawatts (MW) bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 60,007 MW.[1] This capacity is exceeded only by China.[2] However, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US leads the world in produced electricity from wind, 120 billion kW-hr in 2011, versus 73 billion kW-hours for China.[3]
For the 12 months until August 2013, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to 159.14 terawatt-hours, or 3.95% of all generated electrical energy.[4] On the other hand, for the 12 months until October 2010, the American wind industry received 42% ($4986 million) of all federal subsidies for electricity production. This figure does not include any state or local subsidies. [5]
A 2012 report by a clean energy consulting group concluded that new wind farms can produce electricity in the 5-8 cents per kWh range, making wind power cost-competitive with fossil fuels in many areas.[6] As of 2013, the US Energy Information Administration estimates the "levelized cost" of wind energy from new installations as 7 to 10 cents per kWh, depending on the geographic area, but cautioned that levelized costs of non-dispatchable sources such as wind should be compared to the avoided energy cost rather than the levelized cost of dispatchable sources such as fossil fuels or geothermal.[7] Fifteen states have installed over 1,000 MW of wind capacity, and a total of 39 states now have installed at least some utility-scale wind power, with Nevada the latest in the 3Q of 2012.[8] Texas, with 12,212 MW of capacity, has the most installed wind power capacity of any U.S. state, followed by California and Iowa with 5,549 MW and 5,137 MW respectively.[1] The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the largest wind farm in the United States with a capacity of 1020 MW of power.[9] GE Energy is the largest domestic wind turbine manufacturer.[10]
There were 10,312 MW across 30 states under construction in the second quarter of 2012 and 8,430 MW across 30 states and territories under construction in the third quarter of 2012, with less than 100 MW of new construction.[8] The U.S. Department of Energy's report 20% Wind Energy by 2030 envisioned that wind power could supply 20% of all U.S. electricity, which included a contribution of 4% from offshore wind power. In August 2011, a coalition of 24 governors asked the Obama administration to provide a more favorable business climate for the development of wind power.[11] On January 1, 2013 the production tax credit was extended for another year.[12] However, uncertainty about future tax benefits for wind power has led some companies to relocate or close their production facilities.[13]
Contents  [hide]
1 Overview
2 National trends
2.1 Wind generation potential
3 State trends
3.1 Texas
3.2 Iowa
3.3 California
3.4 Minnesota
3.5 Washington
3.6 Oregon
3.7 Wyoming
3.8 Kansas
4 Commercialization of wind power
4.1 Industry trends
4.2 Wind Powering America
4.3 Other government involvement
4.4 Siting considerations
5 Offshore wind power
5.1 Massachusetts
5.2 Rhode Island
5.3 New Jersey
5.4 Atlantic Wind Connection
6 Statistics
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Along with the cheaper costs of windpower it reduces the Hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. In addition it brings us closer to stopping the Import and dependence on OPEC for oil. Another gig plus is the revenue it pays to Elk County. Liz, Ken and Doug can be proud of this accomplishment.

[oldfart]

T BOONE PICKENS  lost so much money on wind farms  droped  out of top 400 billionairs ,think he will stick to oil ,