There are some interesting factoids contained in these excerpts from pieces I recently came across; Lets monitor this information and see how accurate our fearless forecasters at DOE are.
First data set: "Over the past decade, wind energy has become the world's fastest growing energy source, expanding globally at an average rate of 28% over the past five years alone. Currently, just under 60,000 megawatts of wind energy are installed globally with the majority, approximately 40,000 megawatts, installed in Europe and about 9,000 megawatts in the U.S. In Europe, government targets focused to decrease the use of carbon fuels and increase energy sustainability have encouraged the growth of wind energy. Today, in Denmark and some areas of Germany wind energy already contributes between 25-30% to these nations' generation mix.
In the U.S. wind currently provides less than 0.5%; however, considering America's abundant and energetic winds, wind energy could provide a significant contribution toward the nation's energy security and clean power generation efforts. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the world's winds could theoretically supply the equivalent of 5,800 quadrillion BTUs (quads) of energy each year -- more than 15 times current world energy demand. (A quad is equal to about 172 million barrels of oil or 45 million tons of coal.)"
2nd data set: "Industry sources reported that approximately 11,400 MW of new wind energy generation capacity was installed in 2005, an increase of more than 40 percent from 2004. The worldwide installed base now stands at approximately 60,000 MW, and industry sources estimate the value of the wind energy market is expected to exceed $130 billion over the next five years." |
