Wind Power in the United States

Currently there are 31 states in the US putting out more than 9,000 megaWatts of power.

The biggest wind power state happens to be the biggest state with just under 2000 megaWatts of power, 1995 MW. Several other states in the nation have well over 100 MW power output with the lowest states at 1. Every little bit helps.

Like solar power, wind power, is absolutely free, provided by mother nature herself. The trouble with wind power and why a lot of states are still without generators is the difficulty to harness it and make a difference. Sure saving the world and making a cleaner living is motivation for some, when the all mighty dollar is in the equation, efficiency usually wins out.

Wind towers, and windmills, are close to 100 yards at the tallest point and need blades over 30 yards to really pull in enough wind to turn a large enough generator to make enough power to make a difference in the grid (that wonderful place where all your energy needs come from.)

However, many states, getting tax incentives in some cases, are putting up wind towers where large open land is easy to come by and where wind speeds are kept high. The other downfall of wind power is that the blades and generators can make a large noise pollution which most people are not a fan of.

Luckily companies like General Electric are making headway into both of these avenues of wind power research. More efficient blade designs and generator combinations as well as quieter designs are moving forward everyday.

A great place to find out more information on the United States and their wind power capabilities is at the American Wind Energy Association.



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2 Responses to 'Wind Power in the United States'

  1. How to Use a Content to Promote your Launch - Flee the Cube - November 17th, 2006 at 8:06 am

    [...] As for his blogs, I’m a big fan of Fueling The World, where he wrote a great article about wind power in the US. He’s also got a great Hawaii blog at Aloha Update. I remember the couple of days that we spent staring out the window and wondering what the heck this big ball off of Ford Island was. And lastly, here’s one for the good old days, back when we used to talk about becoming millionaires over lunch on a daily basis. [...]

  2. How to Use a Contest to Promote your Launch - Flee the Cube - November 19th, 2006 at 12:34 pm

    [...] As for his blogs, I’m a big fan of Fueling The World, where he wrote a great article about wind power in the US. He’s also got a great Hawaii blog at Aloha Update. I remember the couple of days that we spent staring out the window and wondering what the heck this big ball off of Ford Island was. And lastly, here’s one for the good old days, back when we used to talk about becoming millionaires over lunch on a daily basis. [...]


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