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Wind Power
Wind power is one of the world's fastest-growing sources of renewable energy. It uses the force of the wind to spin turbines. These spinning turbines generate electricity. Most wind power is produced at wind farms, which are large groups of turbines in consistently windy locations. A very large wind farm can generate enough electricity for all the homes in a city of about one million people.
Small wind turbines can be used for individual homes, businesses, and boats. They can be used to pump water, or the electricity can be stored in large batteries for use at another time.
Wind energy is a rapidly growing alternative energy resource and could generate as much as 35% of our nation’s electricity by 2050. If this occurs, a cumulative total of 12,300 million of greenhouse gas emissions would be avoided. In 2019, U.S. annual wind generation exceeded hydroelectric generation for the first time. Wind is now the top renewable source of electricity generation in the country, a position previously held by hydroelectricity. The oldest still-operating wind power plant in the United States came online in 1975. (*Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration*) |
