Wind Energy Industry Sees Growth

The topic of wind energy might seem out of place for this blog, but as an emergency preparedness enthusiast, I closely monitor trends around both climate change and renewable energy sources – the former because it creates more volatile weather which increases emergency outages, and the latter because it serves as a partial antidote for the first.  And when it comes to the percentage of total clean energy generated, wind energy sources are quickly ascending.

Why Wind Energy is Flourishing

For a detailed snapshot of the industry trends, check out the AWEA (American Wind Energy Association) blog post summarizing its 2017 Annual Report (note: you must be an AWEA member to access the full report).  The main trend that stands out for me is that wind energy is more common than I thought.

Fourteen states generate at least 10% of their electricity via wind, and 4 states have passed the 30% threshold.  Overall, 27 million U.S. homes – or 21% of total U.S. households – are now able to be powered via wind.

This is a staggering number if you think about it.  Growth can primarily be attributed to technological improvements that have reduced the price of wind-generated electricity.  In fact, the average cost-per-kilowatt is down approximately 66% vs. 2009 prices.  And this is a trend I fully expect to continue, because private sector driven technological enhancements will continue to put downward pressure on wind energy pricing, which will fuel continuing growth going forward.

It’s all good news from an emergency preparedness perspective, which is always appreciated because, let’s face it, we could use as much good news in our field as we can get!