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The Wind Energy Industry
Energy demand in the U.S. and around the world continues to grow rapidly, creating a need to find new, clean, renewable sources of energy that can provide large amounts of economical power without contributing to climate change. In response, the wind energy industry is growing rapidly on a global scale. Click on the links to learn more!
What is the history of wind energy?
For centuries, humans have harnessed the power of the wind to do work such as move boats, grind grain, or draw water. The use of wind to create electric power started around 1900 with Poul la Cour in Denmark. Click on the link to read the Danish Wind Industry Association's very thorough history of wind turbines.
How long has the wind energy industry existed in the U.S.?
The U.S. has had modern, commercial-scale wind power for more than two decades. The first domestic wind farms were constructed in California in the early 1980s. The U.S. wind industry reached its first 1,000 megawatts of installed capacity in 1985, but then took more than a decade to reach 2,000 megawatts in 1999. Since 1999, however, the installed capacity has increased fivefold. Today, wind energy is the nation's fastest growing source of commercial-scale power.
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Wind turbines in Tehachapi, California. |
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How much wind energy is installed worldwide?
As of the end of 2006, almost 75,000 megawatts of wind power were installed worldwide. Although approximately 50 countries use wind power, five countries account for 72% of the world's installed wind energy capacity. The U.S. ranks third in the world in terms of total installed megawatts, behind Germany and Spain but ahead of India and Denmark.
Installed Wind Power as of December, 2006
Country |
Megawatts |
Germany |
20,621 |
Spain |
11,615 |
United States |
11,603 |
India |
6,270 |
Denmark |
3,136 |
Of the 75,000 megawatts of wind power installed worldwide, the U.S. accounts for 18% of that capacity. As of June 30, 2007, the U.S. had more than 12,000 megawatts of wind power, enough to serve more than 3.75 million average households. However, in terms of the percentage of electricity provided by wind power, the U.S. is far behind at less than 1%, compared to 5% in Germany and 20% in Denmark. Fortunately, the U.S. wind industry is the fastest-growing of any country in the world.
Click here to read the February, 2007 press release from the Global Wind Energy Council "Global Wind Energy Markets Continue to Boom".
Click on the image to view this graph from the World Wind Energy Association
that shows the actual and predicted total installed global capacity, 1997-2010.
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How much wind energy is installed in the U.S.?
As of June 30, 2007, more than 12,600 megawatts of wind energy was installed in more than 30 states in the U.S. Texas and California rank highest among the 50 states.
Click on the image to visit the American Wind Energy Association's
website, which shows where U.S. wind projects are located.
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Is the U.S. wind energy industry growing?
Yes! Wind power is now one of the fastest growing sources of new power generation in the U.S., second only to natural gas. In the past two years the U.S. has led the world in new installed wind capacity, with and 2,454 megawatts of wind was built domestically in 2006. In 2005, the U.S. wind power industry spent $3 billion on generating equipment. In 2006, the new generating capacity installed in the U.S. represented a capital investment of almost $4 billion, more than 10,000 new job-years nationwide, and between $5 and $9 million in annual payments to landowners.
The American wind industry has an exciting future. Researchers estimate that approximately 25% of the U.S. is suited for wind power production, and wind could supply 20% of the nation's electricity by 2030. In 2006, U.S. wind power produced enough electricity to save more than 0.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
How big is the global wind industry?
The global wind industry currently employs more than 300,000 people and has seen growth rates of 25% in the past few years. 75,000 megawatts of wind turbines are in operation in almost 50 countries, and they generate more than 1% of the electricity used worldwide. Using this clean, renewable energy source avoids the emission of the equivalent of 150 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, which contributes to global warming. Source: the World Wind Energy Association, http://www.wwindea.org.
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Which companies are the major manufacturers of wind turbines?
Worldwide, the Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has the greatest market share at around 27% in 2006. Vestas is followed by Spanish turbine manufacturer Gamesa, and General Electric (GE) is in third place globally.
However, GE ranks first in turbines used in the U.S. market, with a market share of 46%, and GE has maintained the dominant position in the domestic market for the past four years (2002-2006). Five companies followed GE in this category in 2006: Siemens, Vestas, Mitsubishi Power Systems, Suzlon, and Gamesa, respectively. GE’s domestic installed capacity in that year was 1,146 megawatts. The combined domestic installed capacity of the next five firms in that year was 1,300 megawatts.
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Where are wind turbines manufactured?
In addition to the blades, towers, and nacelles, wind turbines require thousands of smaller components. Turbine parts and components are manufactured around the globe. Currently, a small amount of this manufacturing takes place in the U.S., but this represents a small fraction of the domestic manufacturing activity that could potentially occur if the U.S. makes a serious effort to develop its wind energy infrastructure. To learn more about the domestic manufacturing jobs that could be created by wind, click here to go to Wind Energy and the Economy!
In the U.S., blade manufacturing occurs primarily in the Midwest and the Pacific. Towers are made mainly in the Midwest and the South. The manufacture of nacelles and controls happens mostly in the Midwest, in New England, and in the South. Gearboxes and drive trains are manufactured almost exclusively in the Midwest. Many smaller parts are produced by more than forty companies across the country. Those smaller parts include blade composites, blade extenders, bolts, cables, cranes, fraction hoists, ladders, lift systems, substations, and tower flanges.
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