Wind tops 10 percent share of electricity in five US states

Earth Policy News reports that a new picture is emerging in the U.S. energy sector and wind-power is remarkably on the rise.

According to Paul Ray, renowned sociologist and coauthor of The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World, “these growth rates for wind are the kinds of numbers that alternative energy experts, including me, have been waiting to see for decades. This all means that wind and solar can take their place as solutions to the climate crisis. Wind power is now becoming part of the grid. On the other hand, the most dangerous energy source, coal, is in steady decline. (The 36% annual growth rate for wind reflects the very small base of the percent to start with.) Most important is wind’s growing share of net electrical generation in the second graph. The other key benchmark is mentioned at the end: Germany’s leading wind power provinces have wind at 40% of electrical supply–the top US states should be able to equal or exceed that because they are far better wind territory. That shows the size of the potential.”