Comments on: Despite Economic Slump, U.S. Adds 1,649 MW of Wind Energy in Third Quarter

By: Energy Tough Love Blog » 2009 Was A Very Busy Year For Energy Conservation - And other Environmental Endeavers

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 17:32:52 +0000

[...] up-front capital required for many renewable energy projects. Despite the economic slump, the wind industry continued to grow through the 3rd quarter, but suffered much more in Q4 of [...]

By: justinjest

justinjest — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:16:32 +0000

Excellent. Thanks for the numbers, DougDante.

This comment was originally posted on Reddit

By: DougDante

DougDante — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:18:00 +0000

Jump to the conclusions if you don’t want to see the numbers. 2008 total US MW @end: 25,300 MW (Megawatts) 2008 total US wind power generated: 52 million MWh (Megawatt Hours) as a % of all power generated in US in 2008: 1.26% Wind power growth rate in 2008: 50% Source: [American Wind Energy Annual Report 2008](http://www.awea.org/publications/reports/AWEA-Annual-Wind-Report-2009.pdf) Conservative full year estimate of new wind energy for 2009: 5,800 MW * 4/3 = 7,733 MW (Expect larger than this). Total: 25,300 MW + 7,733 MW = 33,033 MW Ratio 2009 expected MW to 2008 MW: (33,033 / 25,300 ) = 1.30 Estimated wind power growth rate in 2009: 30% Estimated 2009 total US wind power: 52 million MWh (Megawatt Hours) * 1.3 = 67.6 Estimated wind power % of all generation: 1.26% * 1.3 = 1.6% Total US electric generation in 2007: 4,156,745 Total US electric generation in 1997: 3,492,172 [Energy Information Administration](http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epates.html) Growth rate in total US electric generation: 1.76% ~= 2% Years until 50% power at 30% growth rate: Year of majority wind power at current growth rate: 2009 + 14 = 2023 Years until 50% wind power at 50% growth rate: < 9 years. Years until 50% wind power at 30% growth rate: < 14 years. Years until 50% wind power at 20% growth rate: < 21 years Years until 50% wind power at 10% growth rate: < 45 years Conclusions: So long as we can sustain our slower 30% growth rate, or even if we fall in a year or two to an even slower 20% growth rate in wind power, we can have a majority wind power electrical system in less than 20 years. If we can return to a 50% growth rate in wind power, and sustain it, we can have a majority wind power electrical system in less than 10 years.

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By: sgnmarcus

sgnmarcus — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:40:24 +0000

1.65 GW sounds cooler

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By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:42:24 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Reddit by vonderbish: Not as good as last year, but considering the global economy, not bad at all!…

By: lowrads

lowrads — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:36:11 +0000

Is the US still the leading exporter of electric motors?

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By: kubutulur

kubutulur — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:36:05 +0000

In order to come up with new ways of counting noise, we decided to invest in wind power!

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By: clausy

clausy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:45:38 +0000

I’m paying an extra cent per KWh in connecticut for wind power. That forces them to source it from somewhere local. Costs me an extra $10 a month. It’s a shame it’s voluntary… Not saying it’s the answer, but it all helps.

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By: justinjest

justinjest — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:48:10 +0000

Who is adding the capacity and where? Is it small operators or big utilities?

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By: vonderbish

vonderbish — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:25:01 +0000

Not as good as last year, but considering the global economy, not bad at all!

This comment was originally posted on Reddit