Fun Wind Facts

From August 2007 North American Windpower coverage of recent US DOE report on recent industry trends (thanks to my colleague Ralph Cavanaugh) :

• Total US wind power installed as of 2006: 11,575 MW
• Wind capacity installed in 2006: 2,454 MW
• Wind installations in 2006 as fraction of all nameplate power capacity installed in US in 2006: 19%
• Investment in US wind project installation in 2006: $3.7 billion
• GE Wind’s market share for US wind turbine installations: 47%
• Average size of wind turbines installed in US in 2006: 1.6 MW

Wind now accounts for over one percent of installed US generating capacity and about six tenths of one percent of US electricity generation.  Notably, windpower production from 2000 – 2006 was up 360 percent; total electricity generation over the same period was up about seven percent. 

A final interesting note:  if you look at growth in GWh produced by generation category in the US, from 2000 – 2006, wind and coal are essentially identical (about 20,000 GWh).

Some how these factoids bring to mind this story run recently in the Cape Cod Times noting that the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound has hired a coal industry lobbyist as its new CEO. Apparently Glenn Wattley, the new CEO, is a "coal industry insider." For those that don't know the Alliance is sham created and ridiculously well funded for one purpose: to kill the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind project.

Appropriate, no, that in the fight for this first, US next generation wind project the opposition should be represented by someone from the old generation of technology?