Wind power is generated when wind turbine propellers convert kinetic energy into mechanical energy. Wind turbines can be placed at higher elevations or on offshore floating platforms to generate energy.
- The American Jobs Plan sets the intention to achieve carbon-free electricity by 2035, but there has been pushback against wind farms.
- Stacker compared installed wind energy capacity in the continental U.S. to potential wind energy capacity and contextualized what percent of electricity generation is currently sourced from wind power in each state.
- Rhode Island will benefit from $40 million in wind energy development in Providence, which will create 40 union jobs.
- Residents of Delaware are opposed to wind energy, but the major wind energy developer donated $50,000 to the state for eco-restoration efforts.
- Residents in New Jersey are concerned about the impact of wind turbines 15 miles from the Atlantic City shore.
- Orsted Offshore North America submitted a bid to develop a wind farm in Maryland that would deliver 760 megawatts of energy and power almost 300,00 homes.
- Education and local municipalities in Vermont both benefit from wind energy projects, but elected officials and citizens have pushed back against new wind energy development.
- Florida has experimented with wind energy on a small scale but hasn’t yet embraced its full potential. However, the state is exploring using turbines with ocean currents to generate energy.
- South Carolina is seeking ways to avoid the catastrophe faced by Texas when freezing temperatures shut down wind turbines in February 2021.
- Louisiana steel manufacturer built wind turbines being used in Rhode Island, and the state is exploring how to create jobs and revenue by developing its own wind farms.
- West Virginia started construction on a $200 million wind farm in early 2021, which is expected to increase the state’s wind energy capacity by 15% and bring over 1,000 full-time jobs to the state by 2030.
- The governor of Maine signed a bill banning wind farms in Maine waters after pushback from the state’s fishing industry. However, the state can still benefit from wind energy by sitting wind farms farther out, in federal waters.
- A wind energy project proposed for North Carolina would generate 2,500 megawatts and would be sited 27 miles from shore, which would reduce complaints by citizens and some industries.
- One dairy farm in Michigan is using wind energy to power its operations. The farm is part of a 130-turbine development that is expected to deliver electricity to 120,000 homes and provide tax revenue for the region.
- Would-be wind turbine technicians can train at a Virginia trade school in a 12-month immersion program, which includes hands-on training in climbing, rappelling, rigging, and rescuing.
- New York’s wind turbines are set up to survive wintry weather by utilizing technology that helps prevent ice buildup on turbine blades and detects and removes ice when it can’t be prevented.
- Georgia has plenty of potential for increasing access to wind energy and could generate more power from wind alone than it used in 2019.
- Wind energy advocates are seeing no support from the Republican-led Pennsylvania legislature, and the state is losing renewable energy jobs.
- One advocate for renewable power in Wisconsin noted that wind and solar facilities create passive income for farmers and other landowners, with no responsibility for maintenance.
- Construction is scheduled for a 100-turbine wind farm in Mississippi’s Tunica County, which will bring $800,000 in tax revenues to the area.
- Tennessee has minimal wind generation and no renewable energy commitments or standards, and no wind energy-specific incentive programs.
- The state of Indiana is currently struggling between its want for renewable energy options and retaining local control of project development. However, progress is being made at the state level.
- Ohio’s wind energy prospects are dimmer as a state bill reduces renewable portfolio standards and setback requirements hamper new project development.
- Alabama will benefit from wind energy development because of the creation of components used to generate wind energy.
- La Quinta Inn in Louisville is looking to generate 25% of its energy needs via wind and solar options.
- The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation has purchase agreements for wind-generated electricity, even though the state has no current wind projects.
- Pre-college students can train for wind energy jobs in Idaho, and one proposed wind farm would generate $4 million annually.
- More than one-third of Iowa’s power is generated via wind, and a bat-detecting dog finds bats killed by the turbines.
- Wind turbines are almost all sited in six regions throughout California, and floating offshore wind farms are the focus of future development.
- Texas has a potential wind energy capacity of 1,347,992 megawatts and currently installs 33,133 megawatts of wind energy capacity. Wind energy supports almost 37,000 jobs in Texas alone.
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Conclusion
This article summarises recent developments in wind energy. The review will examine the global resource and its evaluation, wind turbine technology and its recent upscaling and evolution, offshore prospects and engineering challenges, and the research required to support these developments.
