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The U.S. wind energy industry has experienced its slowest quarter since 2007.

The U.S. industry added just 395 megawatts of wind-powered electric generating capacity in the third quarter of 2010, making it the lowest quarter since 2007, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The industry added only 700 megawatts in the second quarter of 2010.

Year-to-date installations stood at 1,634 MW, down 72 percent versus 2009, and the lowest level since 2006. In 2010, wind projects in the U.S. are being installed at half the rate as in Europe, and a third of the rate as in China.

greennumbers wind energy industry wind energy american wind energy association

Five years ago, the leaders of this sun-scorched, wind-swept nation made a bet: To reduce Portugal’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, they embarked on an array of ambitious renewable energy projects — primarily harnessing the country’s wind and hydropower, but also its sunlight and ocean waves.

Today, Lisbon’s trendy bars, Porto’s factories and the Algarve’s glamorous resorts are powered substantially by clean energy. Nearly 45 percent of the electricity in Portugal’s grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent just five years ago.

greennumbers portugal renewable energy wind energy hydro power

n Oceana’s report Untapped Wealth: Offshore Wind Can Deliver Cleaner, More Affordable Energy and More Jobs Than Offshore Oil, our comprehensive analysis shows that focusing our investments on clean energy like offshore wind would be cost effective, more beneficial to job creation, and better for the environment and ocean in a variety of ways than offshore oil and gas exploration and development

oceana report offshore wind energy wind power wind energy

The wheel in the sky keeps on turning -- or at least it will if a Japanese renewable energy professor's "Wind Lens" turbine design is realized. Resembling giant white rims, these offshore turbines have the potential to produce up to three times as much energy as a standard offshore one.

wind lens wind energy offshore wind farm offshore wind

And you thought John Deere was all about tractors. This morning utility Exelon said it will buy up the wind power division of John Deere, called John Deere Renewables, for $860 million, plus an additional $40 million once all of the projects are completed. John Deere Renewables has 965 MW of clean power projects under development in various stages.

greennumbers john deere john deere renewables exelon wind power wind energy

The installed capacity of Spain increased by 2,459 MW in 2009, reaching a total of 19,149 MW (these figures include both the activities of national and international operators). This way, wind energy rose as the third technology of the system with demand coverage of 14.4%, reaching peaks of over 50% on certain occasions. 

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Clare County Council has given the go-ahead for construction on the largest community owned wind farm development in Ireland.

The €200 million project will see West Clare Renewable Energy build 28 3MW wind turbines on a mountain slope between Ennis and Miltown Malbay, and will generate enough power to cover every home and business in Co Clare. Construction of the project will generate up to 300 jobs.

Clare County Council community owned wind farm greennumbers wind energy

In actual fact, wind-created energy is horrendously expensive

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Consumption of electricity from wind rose by 28% between 2008 and 2009, according to the federal government's annual energy report.

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Terra-Gen Power has announced it has begun construction on what it's calling the world's largest wind energy project, the 1,550 megawatt Alta Wind Energy Center, in Mojave, California. At double the capacity of the next largest completed project, the wind farm will generate enough power to electrify 275,000 homes.

Terra-Gen Power wind greennumbers wind energy wind farm mojave Alta Wind Energy Center

Google is officially in the green energy business. The search giant announced on Tuesday that its Google Energy subsidiary signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy. Google will begin buying 114 megawatts of electricity from an Iowa wind farm on July 30.

Google, of course, cannot directly use the clean green energy generated by the wind farm; that power goes into the local grid. So Google Energy will sell the power on the regional spot market, where utilities and electricity retailers go to buy power when demand spikes and they have a shortfall. Google will use the revenue from spot market sales to buy renewable energy certificates (RECs) which will offset its greenhouse gas emissions.

google google energy greennumbers wind energy wind farm NextEra Energy renewable energy certificates

Shares in Spain's largest wind and solar energy firms climbed yesterday, after the renewable industry reached a deal with the Spanish government that should result in lower-than-expected cuts to subsidies.

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An interesting 2 page study on the price of energy from wind vs offshore oil

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Czech electricity group CEZ said on Thursday that it would soon launch Europe's biggest onshore wind-power farm at Fantanele, in southeastern Romania.
The 1.1-billion-euro (1.45-billion-dollar) farm will have capacity of 600 megawatts powered by 240 turbines, CEZ development manager Juan Saez Palacios said during an energy seminar in Bucharest.

Czech romania cez wind farms wind power wind energy greennumbers

Iowa and Texas lead the nation in wind energy efforts, according to the annual report released Thursday from the American Wind Energy Association.

Iowa claims the title for the state with the largest percentage of electricity from wind energy. As of the end of 2009, over 14 percent of Iowa's power was from wind energy

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One of the biggest problems with wind power is that it’s not constant. But a system of linked wind generators off the East Coast of the U.S. might overcome this difficulty, scientists say.

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GE today announced plans to invest approximately €340 million to develop or expand its wind turbine manufacturing, engineering and service facilities in four European countries—the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Germany

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In 2009, one industry blew past its predictions for growth
That is wind power, with an annual growth rate of 39%. This is the largest increase in capacity on record—helped significantly by economic stimulus funding for green energy. Since 2002, the country's installed base of turbines has jumped almost sevenfold.

wind power wind energy annual growth Department of Energy

China doubled the amount of energy generated from windmills last year, a report from the global wind industry said Wednesday.

The Global Wind Energy Council said the sector grew rapidly last year -- with total wind capacity up 31 percent -- despite the economic downturn.

The market for new wind turbines was worth $63 billion in 2009, it said.

China became the biggest market for new wind turbines last year, as it doubled power capacity from 12 gigawatts to 25 gigawatts

china Global Wind Energy Council greennumbers wind energy wind power

The stimulus package passed in 2009 by Congress may help shovel-ready community wind projects move ahead, according to a new report by Mark Bolinger, a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Community-scale Wind Projects Renewable Energy wind wind energy Environmental Energy Technologies