A U.S. ‘WIND RUSH’

'Wind rush' underway across much of America

March 31, 2015 (American Wind Energy Association)

“Advanced wind turbines are accessing faster, steadier winds at higher altitudes so they can generate more electricity, creating a modern-day ‘wind rush’ as new areas in the Great Lakes states and the Southeastern U.S. become economical sites to develop more wind energy…Modern wind turbines require a wind speed of only about 8 miles per hour (5 meters per second) to start generating utility-scale quantities of electricity. Sites with comparatively lower average wind speeds can now be considered for commercial turbines for the first time…The Great Lakes region [states like Michigan are] an early beneficiary…With continued technology advancements, states that currently have no commercial wind turbines at all, primarily in the Southeast, will see development opportunities open up in the coming years….High-wind areas are becoming even more productive thanks to longer blades, as the average annual “capacity factor” or percentage of the maximum rated capacity that a turbine generates year-round now tops 50 percent…” click here for more

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