The U.S. wind energy industry installed 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in 2008, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) announced on Tuesday as their most recent green steps.
That’s good news for wind energy because 8,358 MW of new generating capacity . . .
- shatters all previous annual records
- swells the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50%
- represents economic investment of some $17 billion
- reflects 13,000 new jobs in the wind turbine and turbine component manufacturing sector
- positions wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the U.S. (along with natural gas)
- and represents a savings of nearly 44 million tons of carbon emissions –the equivalent of taking 7 million cars off the road.