Installed U.S. Wind Energy capacity hits the 20000 MW mark
Posted by: admin in news, tags: coal, electricity, energy, mw, oil, power, turbine, windAccording to a recent press release by the American Wind Energy Association, the installed capacity of wind turbines has surpassed the 20000 megawatt mark! The amazing thing about this is that it took over 2 decades to hit the 10000 megawatt mark, and only 2 years to double that amount. Indeed an amazing feat.
Currently, there are 20152 MW of capacity in the United States. This amount is enough to power approximately 5.3 million homes or over a million electric hybrid vehicles.
As proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the goal in America is to produce 20% of the electric demand using wind power by the year 2030. But if the current rate of new capacity keeps increasing as it has been, the 20% mark should be achieved well ahead of the year 2030 goal.
A few interesting facts about the installed capacity. Currently, the 20000 MW of wind power eliminates the equivalent of burning 28.7 million tons of coal, or 90 million barrels of oil. The corresponding decrease in carbon dioxide emissions is estimated to be 34 million tons.
The United States, often called the Saudi Arabia of Wind Energy, now produces the most power of any country in the world. Even though Germany has a higher capacity installed base, the United States produces more power from fewer installations due to the stronger winds.
http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Wind_Installations_Surpass_20K_MW
Tags: coal, electricity, energy, mw, oil, power, turbine, wind
