People
feel the countryside should be left intact for everyone to enjoy its beauty. Where
Wind Powered Electricity Can be Effectively Generated.
Places
in the world where wind blows strong and often, people and businesses can
harness the wind as an option to use in the generation of electricity. Globally,
these places include much of North America, southern South America, Greenland,
most of Europe, Northern Africa, eastern Asia, most of Australia, and anywhere
there are mountains or large hills. The top 5 countries producing electrical
wind power in 2007 were: Germany, United States, Spain, India and China,
respectively.
Considerable
wind speeds also occur across oceans and large water bodies. Since most of the
world's population lives near oceans, wind farms with strong offshore and
onshore breezes could produce an abundant amount of electricity. On land in the
USA, the major wind corridor is the Great Plains which includes the states of
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The wind turbine
also extends into the states west to the great mountains west, including
eastern Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. There are also considerable
wind resources in eastern and southern Minnesota and the entire state of Iowa,
diminishing south through Missouri and east through southern Wisconsin and
northern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Parts of New York and the New England
states also have considerable wind.
The
Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that wind power could supply the US with
100% of its electricity, just from the Great Plains wind corridor or from
offshore wind farms alone. According to the "Pickens Plan," a $10
billion wind farm with 2500 generators can supply enough energy for 1.3 million
homes, and for $1 trillion the Great Plains wind corridor could supply 20% of
America's electricity. That would be about 250,000 wind generator to
supply 130 million homes.
In a
report published by the U.S. Department of Energy, "20% Wind Energy by
2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply,"
that report concluded that:
Reaching
20% wind energy will require enhanced transmission infrastructure, streamlined
siting and permitting regimes, improved reliability and operability of wind
systems, and increased U.S. wind manufacturing capacity.
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