WIND CAN ASSIST US IN REDUCING OUR NEGATIVE CLIMATE IMPACT!
The United States installed more wind turbine capacity in 2020 than in any other year.
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In 2020, the United States installed more wind turbine capacity than ever.
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Source: Energy Information Administration of the United States, Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory
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In 2019 and 2020, United States project developers installed more wind power capacity than any other generating technology. According to data recently published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory, annual wind turbine capacity additions in the U.S. set a record in 2020, totalling 14.2 gigawatts (GW) and surpassing the previous record of 13.0 GW added in 2012. After this unprecedented year of wind turbine capacity additions, the United States has a total wind turbine capacity of 118 GW.
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The impending phase-out of the total value of the U.S. production tax credit (PTC) at the end of 2020 primarily drove investments in wind turbine capacity in 2020, just as previous tax credit reductions drove substantial wind capacity additions in 2012 and 2019. Congress extended the PTC for another year in December 2020.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly
Texas has the most deployed wind turbine capacity among states, with 30,2 GW as of December 2020. In 2020, Texas produced more wind-generated electricity than the following three states combined (Iowa, Oklahoma, and Kansas). However, Texas generates and consumes total electricity than any other state, and wind power continues to account for slightly less than 20% of the state's electricity production.
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In two additional states, Iowa and Kansas, the wind is the predominant source of electricity generation. In 2019, wind surpassed coal as the leading source of electricity generation in both states.
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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly
Wind turbines contributed 8.4% of the nation's utility-scale electricity generation in 2020. Many of the turbines installed by the end of 2020 will contribute to 2021 increases in wind-generated electricity production. According to projections in EIA's most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook, wind's share of electricity generation is expected to reach 10% in 2021.
Understanding The History Of Wind Turbines
Wind turbines have existed for more than a century. After the invention of the electric generator in the 1830s, engineers began endeavouring to generate electricity from wind power. The United Kingdom and the United States generated wind power in 1887 and 1888. Still, modern wind power is considered to have been developed in Denmark, where horizontal-axis wind turbines were constructed in 1891, and a 22.8-meter wind turbine operated in 1897.
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The wind produces electricity using the kinetic energy generated by air in motion. Wind energy is converted to electricity using wind turbines or wind energy conversion systems. The wind first causes the blades of a turbine to rotate, which then turns the turbine. This transforms kinetic energy into rotational energy by rotating a shaft connected to a generator, producing electrical energy via electromagnetism.
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​The quantity of energy that can be extracted from wind depends on the size and length of the turbine's blades. The output is proportional to the rotor's dimensions and the wind speed cube. Theoretically, wind power potential increases by a factor of eight when wind speed doubles.
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The capacity of wind turbines has increased over time. Typical turbines in 1985 had a rated capacity of 0.05 megawatts (MW) and a rotor diameter of 15 meters. New wind energy projects have turbine capacities of approximately 2 MW onshore and 3–5 MW offshore.
The rotor diameters of commercially available wind turbines have attained 164 meters and 8 megawatts of capacity.
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How Wind Turbines Function
Wind turbines utilize blades to harvest the kinetic energy of the wind. Wind travels over the blades, causing lift (similar to the effect on aeroplane wings), which turns the blades. The blades are connected to a drive shaft that powers an electricity generator.
