At 25GW+ we are number one wind generator, but...

The United States passed Germany in 2008, becoming the world’s number one in wind power installations, according to a report by the Global Wind Energy Council, while global wind capacity rose 28.8%.

“The 120 GW of global wind capacity in place at the end of 2008 will produce 260 TWh and save 158 million tons of CO2 every year,” said Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of the GWEC.

Wind power installations in the U.S. added 8.4GW of capacity, bringing the country’s total to 25GW, passing Germany, which previously held the record at just under 24GW, said the GWEC.
25GW is more than enough power to keep the lights on in five million houses.

The Global Wind Energy Council is forum for the wind energy industry.

This increased capacity came before President Obama, who has promised to boost renewable energy production, even stepped foot in the White House.

The report also notes that the wind projects finished last year, added 35,000 new jobs to the U.S. economy. This brings the national total to 85,000 in that industry.

So...is being number one important enough, or do we need to do more? First off, wind is a meaningful source of energy...but it has mechanical issues that result in lost power in both low wind and high wind...too slow or too high to manage the torque on the systems. These issues need to be overcome using engineering and materials that will provide longlife turbines.

If 25GW produces the energy for 5 million homes then our goal should be closer to 2500GW...and the power for entire regions. Next step...making it happen!