The wind goes forward

According to a recent report by the American wind energy Association, wind was the largest source of generating capacity of renewable energy in the United States. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of energy, wind power has an installed capacity 82183 megawatts, and in the fourth quarter of 2016 wind energy added 6478 MW: the second largest quarterly figure for all time of observations. This is the first case when the wind exceeded the amount of generation of hydropower, says the Association.





HPP has long remained the main source of renewable energy, but the construction of new large hydropower plants are actually frozen. Meanwhile, wind power has expanded rapidly: more than tripled since 2008 – and an even greater number of installations on the way. Energy 82 thousand MW is enough to power 24 million typical American households.





Statistics nominal power, however, does not allow to judge about the real contribution of RES in the energy picture of the country. The Achilles heel of wind and solar energy is the low utilization of installed capacity (ICUF). Thus, according to the energy information Administration among power plants that do not use fossil fuels, the most efficient are nuclear power plants. Their capacity factor in 2015 amounted to 92.3%. Hydroelectric plants have an average capacity factor of 35.8%, and the wind is 32.2%.





However, technological advances in the field of wind energy, including higher turbines with longer blades, which can collect energy from a larger range of wind, carry to improve their effectiveness.

In wind energy the U.S. now employs nearly 102 thousand, or 32% more than in 2015. The labor Ministry estimates the wind energy as the fastest growing sector of the economy. published

 

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: //green-city.su/veter-idyot-vperyod/