Wind grows worldwide and close to home
Solar energy grabbed the most headlines over the last year, but the renewable electricity sector relies on a wide array of technologies and one of the most prominent had a strong year in 2011.
RenewableEnergyWorld.com notes a recent report from the Global Wind Energy Council estimates that the world added more than 41 gigawatts of wind turbines.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, that amounts to nearly 4 percent of the country's total energy capacity in 2010, and the world's 238 gigawatts of installed wind energy capacity would be nearly 23 percent of the country's generating capacity.
Clearly, the U.S. was only responsible for a portion of the added renewable electricity generation, but the country added more than 6.8 gigawatts of wind capacity last year. That would be more than 5 percent of the country's renewable energy capacity in 2010.
"American wind energy’s long-term fundamentals are strong," said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. "We have installed more than a third of all new American electric generation in recent years and are well on our way to providing 20 percent of America’s electricity by 2030 as projected by the Bush Administration. Our 2011 installations alone provide enough electricity to power almost two million American homes."