U.S. Takes Global Lead in Wind Energy Production

U.S. Takes Global Lead in Wind Energy Production

By Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Staff Writer

posted: 23 July 2008 12:04 pm ET

Thanks to blow-hard winds, the United States has just become the world's largest generator of wind energy.

Germany previously held this distinction, though since the United States has about 26 times more land than Germany, the milestone isn't a huge surprise. Nonetheless, we weren't expected to reach this point until late 2009.

"Our wind energy capacity is growing faster than anyplace else," said Randall Swisher, the executive director of the American Wind Energy Association, the national trade organization for the wind energy industry. "So it's no longer really alternative energy. This is very mainstream."

During the first half of 2008, the United States, for the first time, generated more wind energy electricity than Germany, despite the fact that the smaller European country still has more turbines than we do.

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