September 29, 2012

Wind and U.S. Electricity Data, 2000-2011

Columns:
wind power capacity at end of year (MW) :
capacity added from previous year (MW) :
average capacity for year (MW) :
net generation (GW) :
capacity factor :
net generation from fossil fuels (GW)
2011 : 46,919 : 6,652 : 43,593   : 119,747 : .31 : 2,790,291
2010 : 40,267 : 5,404 : 37,565   :  94,652 : .29 : 2,883,361
2009 : 34,863 : 9,453 : 30,136.5 :  73,886 : .28 : 2,726,451
2008 : 25,410 : 8,503 : 21,158.5 :  55,363 : .30 : 2,926,731
2007 : 16,907 : 5,332 : 14,241   :  34,450 : .28 : 2,992,238
2006 : 11,575 : 2,428 : 10,361   :  26,589 : .29 : 2,885,295
2005 :  9,147 : 2,424 :  7,935   :  17,811 : .26 : 2,909,522
2004 :  6,723 :   373 :  6,536.5 :  14,144 : .25 : 2,824,798
2003 :  6,350 : 1,663 :  5,518.5 :  11,187 : .23 : 2,758,651
2002 :  4,687 :   455 :  4,459.5 :  10,354 : .27 : 2,730,167
2001 :  4,232 : 1,693 :  3,385.5 :   6,737 : .23 : 2,677,004
2000 :  2,539 :    65 :  2,505.5 :   5,593 : .25 : 2,692,479
1999 :  2,472
Sources:
http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/wind_installed_capacity.asp
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_1_a
http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_01]

Note that fossil use has not decreased in relation to the increase of wind energy. Also note that if two-thirds of the cost of erecting wind turbines is covered by federal tax breaks and other subsidies (North American Windpower, June 2009; Keith Martin, Chadbourne and Parke, LLP, Financing Wind Power conference, Dec. 3-5, 2003, New York, N.Y.), then at $1.5 million per megawatt, taxpayers cover $1 million of that. At the end of 2011, then, federal taxpayers had paid and were committed to paying $47 billion to wind developers. For no measurable benefit and a great deal of environmental and social harm.

wind power, wind energy, wind turbines, wind farms, environment, environmentalism