U.S. world leader in wind power
The total installed power capacity of 25,369 MW meets 2% of the national
demand. Enel's presence in the United States
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the allocation of approximately 14
million dollars to develop 28 new research and development projects in the wind
power sector. The funds must help win the big challenges still to be resolved,
and in particular for the study and demonstration of new turbines and the
analysis of development and planning issues concerning available resources.
The Minister for Energy, Steven Chu, also presented the Report on the
progress of the national wind market. In 2008 the U.S. has invested less than
16 billion dollars in wind projects, while the installed capacity increased by
8,558 MW, equivalent to 42% of all new electric power installed from all
sources. For the fourth consecutive year, wind power has ranked second in the
list of new installed capacity in the U.S., preceded only by gas.
For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. market has achieved the biggest
increase in terms of installed capacity worldwide, representing a market share
of approximately 30% of the international wind market. With a total installed
power of 25,369 MW, thus earning the first place in the global wind rankings,
ahead of Germany. The electricity generated by wind is able to meet about 2% of
all electricity consumption of the country.
Among the States, Texas ranked first for installed wind capacity, with 7,118
MW; followed by Iowa (2,791 MW) and California (2,517 MW). Seven U.S. States
have more than 1000 MW installed and 13 more than 500.
Enel is present in three provinces in Canada and in over 20 American States
with Enel North America, a
leading company in the field of renewables. Of the 748,5 MW of installed
capacity, 406 relate to wind energy. In January 2009, the second phase of the
Smoky Hills wind
farm in Kansas, the largest of Enel, became operational. With 250 MW of total
power it is able to meet the energy needs of over 85 thousand families.
