How Wind Energy Works

The document provides a comprehensive overview of wind energy, detailing how turbines convert wind into electricity and the factors affecting power output, such as wind speed and turbine height. It examines the history of the US wind industry, noting the influence of federal tax credits and state renewable energy standards. The text argues that wind power is a cost-competitive, sustainable alternative to fossil fuels that can be integrated into the electric grid without compromising reliability, citing examples from Xcel Energy and various European nations. It concludes that achieving 20 percent wind energy in the US by 2030 is technically and economically feasible.

• Wind power is a sustainable energy source that produces no toxic or heat-trapping emissions contributing to global warming and has become increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels.
• The United States has significant onshore and offshore wind potential; a 2012 assessment estimated onshore technical potential at nearly 33,000 TWh (8 times 2012 US power use) and offshore potential at nearly 17,000 TW (4 times 2012 US power use).
• Wind energy production is highly sensitive to wind speed, as power output increases as a cube of the speed; consequently, turbines are being built taller, with some rotors reaching 130 meters, to capture faster winds at higher elevations.
• Integrating wind energy into the electric grid is manageable for utilities, with integration costs adding only up to 10 percent of the wholesale cost of generation even at 20 percent penetration.
• The US wind market has been heavily influenced by the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) and state-level renewable electricity standards (RES), though the intermittent nature of the PTC has historically caused boom-and-bust cycles.
• European countries have generally achieved higher levels of wind energy penetration than the US due to more consistent long-term support; for example, Denmark meets about 30 percent of its electricity demand from wind.
• A 2008 US Department of Energy study concluded that reaching 20 percent wind power by 2030 is feasible and affordable, potentially creating over 500,000 new jobs and reducing global warming emissions by 825 million metric tons annually.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2008). How Wind Energy Works. https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-wind-energy-works

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. How Wind Energy Works. 2008. https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-wind-energy-works.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=How Wind Energy Works |date=14 July 2008 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-wind-energy-works |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2008how, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{How Wind Energy Works}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2008}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/how-wind-energy-works}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }