[alnitak]

Last year the US installed 2400MW. This year Clipper Windpower will ship about 600MW of additional wind turbines into the US market (last year shipped none) so 3000MW could be an underestimate. Other producers also opened new factories.

[alnitak]

ping2

[xcamel]

But not in any place or location that can be seen from a Kennedy Compound

[sitetest]

Ping!

[aft_lizard]

The area I am originally from in Kansas is starting to get a few wind farms, it is also becoming a hub for ethanol production(something it can’t really afford IMO because of water resources), it seems red-states are leading the way for green energy.

[mathluv]

Texas has a lot of wind. I did not realize that a headscarf was not required to be worn until I briefly moved to Canada during college years.

[Tribune7]

These things should be built only in the richest neighborhoods.

[ryan71]

“As Governor of Texas, George Bush signed the state’s RPS into law in 1999. Texas is today the state with the largest amount of wind power in operation, providing income to rural communities, new business and jobs, as well as clean, renewable energy for its economy. A report by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) suggests that the 2,000 MW of new wind power anticipated this year would avoid over 3 million tons of CO 2, annually, at a rate of about 0.48 tons of CO 2 per MWh of wind — reducing the carbon footprint of every man, woman and child in Texas by more than 250 pounds per year.”

And all Gore can do is fly around, make ludicrous movies, and buy his own “credits”.

[smoketree]

All this primitive wind power makes us lood like we are either too stupid or too scared to use nuclear which is far more efficient and doesn’t destroy landscapes.
Nuclear is the power of the future but a small group of envirowackos are insecure so the rest of us can’t make progress.

[coloradan]

The Solar Fraud: Why Solar Energy Won't Run the World, Second Edition

(Amazon's "search inside" link is live.)

[kabar]

What percentage of our national power usage is 3,000 MEGAWATTS? I know that California uses up to 45,000 megawatts daily.

[cake_crumb]

2010 headline: MASSIVE EATHQUAKES CAUSED BY HARMONICS FROM WIND POWER WILL DESTROY EARTH

[LS]

Are they putting the fan blades in front, or behind, Teddy K?

[stefanbatory]

I am rather surprised that they aren’t building more windmills around Capitol Hill...but then that would make Congress productive and we can’t have that!

[pnh102]

I’d let them put one of these things in my backyard (probably only room for one if that!). Anything we can do to generate more power domestically, be it wind, water, solar or nuclear power... i.e., anything to reduce the amount of terrorist-funding energy that we import, will always be great for the USA.

[Uncledave]

so 3000MW could be an underestimate.

Could be. But keep in mind that 2008 orders are for the most part locked in.

Lots of good news on capacity growth this year. Turbine assembly plants, tower plants, blade plants. New entrants. Good stuff.

[InterceptPoint]

And if Gore has his way they will be able to sell their “carbon credits” to anyone with a private jet. Somehow that will reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere while allowing the Clinton’s to fly guilt free. Life is good isn’t it?

[Ragnar54]

The term "Renewable Portfolio Standard" is a typical leftist misnomer. No form of solar energy is renewable, since it requires land, of which (as Mark Twain pointed out) no more is being made.

Despite leftist dreams to the contrary, modern Americans are not nomads living in tepees and will not be impressed with electricity that does not work when the wind stops. In order to provide air conditioning on those hot still days, the utilities will have to have the same generating capacity that they would have had without wind power. Wind power therefore requires an increase in capital equipment (reliable plant + wind plant).

As could be predicted, the leftists are arguing (and legislating) that utilities should not be allowed to make wind power purchasing decisions based on economics, but should be required to use a certain amount of such "renewable" power. In order to meet the requirement, the utilities must switch over to wind power whenever the wind shows up, and power up the real generators whenever the wind dies or exceeds the rating of the windmills. Starting and stopping the real generators and being able to do so quickly will add to the cost.

The one real "renewable" source of energy is nuclear power using breeder reactors. The drawback is that rogue states might breed or otherwise obtain nuclear material for weapons.

The answer is of course to preemptively nuke the rogue states. Since "rogue state" typically means "Islamic Republic" and Muslims seem to create desert wherever they live, preemptive nuking would have the beneficial side effect of converting sand into (much more reflective) glass. This should be a "win win" for those who believe that humans are causing global warming by emitting greenhouse gasses.

[Blue_Spark]

Here in the Portland area, I see trucks going up the Columbia River gorge most weekdays in the warmer months with windturbine parts. There must be a significant installed capacity on the other side of the Cascades.

[Clock King]

3.0 JIGGA WATTS?!

[Redcloak]

Wow! Three whole gigawatts! The State of California’s peak power consumption for today is expected to be just over 28 GW. Our peak capacity for today, which we’d be getting closer to if the weather were a bit warmer, is 36 GW.