Wind energy jobs not only contribute to the growth of clean energy; they also support the conservation of water.
Tag: wind energy
2013: Record Year for Offshore Wind
Offshore wind power installations are on track to hit a seventh consecutive annual record in 2013. Developers added 1,080 megawatts of generating capacity in the first half of the year, expanding the world total by 20 percent in just six months. Fifteen countries host some 6,500 megawatts of offshore wind capacity. Before the year is out, the world total should exceed 7,100 megawatts. Although still small compared with the roughly 300,000 megawatts of land-based wind power, offshore capacity is growing at close to 40 percent a year.
After Record 2012, World Wind Power Set to Top 300,000 Megawatts in 2013
Even amid policy uncertainty in major wind power markets, wind developers still managed to set a new record for installations in 2012, with 44,000 megawatts of new wind capacity worldwide. With total capacity exceeding 280,000 megawatts, wind farms generate carbon-free electricity in more than 80 countries, 24 of which have at least 1,000 megawatts. At the European level of consumption, the world’s operating wind turbines could satisfy the residential electricity needs of 450 million people.
Iowa and South Dakota Approach 25 Percent Electricity from Wind in 2012: Unprecedented Contribution of Wind Power in U.S. Midwest
Defying conventional wisdom about the limits of wind power, in 2012 both Iowa and South Dakota generated close to one quarter of their electricity from wind farms.
The Great Transition, Part II: Building a Wind-Centered Economy
Over the past decade, world wind electric generating capacity grew at nearly 30 percent per year, its increase driven by its many attractive features and by public policies supporting its expansion. Wind is abundant, carbon-free and nondepletable. It uses no water, no fuel, and little land. Wind is also locally available, scales up easily, and can be brought online quickly. No other energy source can match this combination of features.
Offshore Wind Energy Development Picking Up Pace
Wind power is the world’s leading source of renewable electricity, excluding hydropower, with 238,000 megawatts of capacity installed at the start of 2012. Thus far, almost all of this wind power has been tapped on land; worldwide just 4,600 megawatts of offshore wind farms were operating as of mid-2012. Offshore wind capacity is growing quickly, however, expanding nearly six-fold since 2006. Twelve countries now have wind turbines spinning offshore, and more will be joining them to take advantage of the powerful winds blowing over the oceans.
Increase Wind Power with Your Mouse
A good, old friend of sustainablog and our media network, Jan van Voorst, started a new project not long ago where you support green organizations or actions by sharing posts [ … ]
Coal-Fired Power On the Way Out?
The past two years have witnessed the emergence of a powerful movement opposing the construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States. Initially led by environmental groups, both [ … ]
Offshore Wind: The Best Energy Investment America Could Make?
By Stacy Feldman, originally published June 24, 2009, at SolveClimate.com Washington is starting to wake up to something that’s been obvious to marine scientists for years. The winds blowing off [ … ]
Home Wind Energy: Will it Survive Your Own Cost-Benefit Analysis?
Thinking about installing a wind energy system, but not sure if the payback period on your investment meets your financial needs? I began thinking about this question last week when [ … ]
Ten Green Ringtones You Can Cut to Fight Big Coal
Just when it seemed solar and wind power–with a hand from good old conservation–might be gaining ground on Big Coal, the West Virginia Coal Association comes up with a ringtone [ … ]
Try Some Fresh, Clean and Green Electrons
With current political emphasis on kicking fossil fuel habits and modernizing the electrical grid, many are dreaming of Thomas Friedman’s Utopian world of clean, reliable and cheap electrons. First, if [ … ]
New Site Finds Wind Energy Gold
[social_buttons]There’s gold in them thar hills! But to mine it you first must find it, and a revamped website now provides an extremely easy way to do just that. While [ … ]