|
Wind Production
In 2006, wind machines in the United States generated a total of 26.6 billion kWh per year of electricity, enough to serve more than 2.4 million households. This is enough electricity to power a city larger than Los Angeles, but it is only a small fraction of the nation's total electricity production, about 0.4 percent. The amount of electricity generated from wind has been growing fast in recent years. In 2006, electricity generated from wind was 2 1/2 times more than wind generation in 2002.
New technologies have decreased the cost of producing electricity from wind, and growth in wind power has been encouraged by tax breaks for renewable energy and green pricing programs. Many utilities around the country offer green pricing options that allow customers the choice to pay more for electricity that comes from renewable sources. Wind machines generated electricity in 28 different states in 2006. The states with the most wind production are Texas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.
Most of the wind power plants in the world are located in Europe and in the United States where government programs have helped support wind power development. The United States ranks second in the world in wind power capacity, behind Germany and ahead of Spain and India . Denmark ranks number six in the world in wind power capacity but generates 20 percent of its electricity from wind. |
|
