A green - and windy - future according to new AWEA report

The U.S. wind energy industry is expanding as established industry leaders maintain their top position and manufacturing continues to grow, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in its annual Market Report.

Highlights include: The U.S. wind energy industry installed over 10,000 MW of new wind power generating capacity in 2009, the largest year in U.S. history, and enough to power the equivalent of 2.4 million homes or generate as much electricity as three large nuclear power plants; there are 36 states that have utility-scale wind projects and 14 states are in the "Gigawatt Club" with more than 1,000 MW of installed wind capacity per state; and approximately 85,000 people are employed in the wind industry today and hold jobs in areas as varied as turbine component manufacturing, construction and installation of wind turbines, wind turbine operations and maintenance, legal and marketing services, transportation and logistical services, and more.

Cape Wind (finally) gets the green light

After years of struggle and controversy, America's first offshore wind project finally got the green light when Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, approved the Cape Wind project on Apil 28. According to the Cape Wind press release, "Cape Wind’s proposal to build America’s first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal would provide most of the electricity used on Cape Cod and the Islands from clean, renewable energy - reducing this region’s need to import oil, coal and gas. Cape Wind will create new jobs, help stabilize electric costs, contribute to a healthier environment, increase energy independence and establish Massachusetts as a leader in offshore wind power".

Renewable energy bigger than nuclear in the U.S.

According to the International Energy Agency nuclear power can only reduce worldwide emissions of CO2 by 6% by 2050…..as opposed to 54% and 21% respectively for the energy savings and renewable energy.That's why the U.S. needs to be the leader in the promotion and development of sustainable energy, and reject nuclear power. This agenda is backed by two new analyses.

In a recent report by the US Energy Information Administration, the agency found that renewable energy represented 11% of American production in 2009, more than nuclear energy.  With 1210 mw of renewable energy installed, the total capacity added in 2009 reaches 4,000 mw. The United States is now the largest producer of wind energy in the world, ahead of Germany, according to the GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council), with a total capacity of 25,170 mw as opposed to 23,900 mw for Germany.  But remarkably the United States should this year also take the lead in the solar energy sector.  The American production of wind-energy electricity made possible a saving of 54 million tons of CO2 in 2009, reducing the carbon emission in the electricity sector by 2%, or the equivalent of the removal of 9 million cars, stated the AWAE. Read more.

Eight "convenient truths" about climate change from Amory Lovins

Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute describes how nuclear power's "collapse" is "good for our wallets" and other promising signs.

A global push for renewable energy

With 142 member nations already signed on, the new International Renewable Energy Agency is promoting a fast, global transition to clean, safe, and renewable energy, writes Alice Slater in the January 21, 2010 edition of Yes magazine.