In recent years, the Wind Technologies Market Report from the United States Department of Energy has shown over and over just how wind energy is a serious force in the energy marketplace.
How serious?
In 14 states, wind power supplies more than 10% of the state’s total electricity generation. In three states, wind energy is responsible for more than 30% of total electricity generation.
The growth of wind energy in recent years is unabated. In 2018, 7,588 megawatts of wind energy came online, and the Department of Energy expects that growth to continue in the coming years. A factor helping that growth is that wind energy hardware prices are dropping, even as new turbine designs are increasing the typical power generated by each turbine. This makes them more affordable to install and thus more attractive as an investment.
In the grander scheme, wind supplied only 6.5% of the US’ total electricity in 2018, which places it behind a dozen other countries. Four of them—Denmark, Germany, Ireland, and Portugal—get over 20% of their total electric needs supplied by wind, with Denmark at over 40%.
While that may seem like a negative connotation on the surface, it goes to show the room still to grow for this market over the next decade, and beyond. Besides the increasing sustainability and lesser reliance on fossil fuels, the wind power sector employs more than 114,000 full-time workers; a number that is set to proportionality grow alongside the industry.
In fact, in 2018, the national average price of wind energy fell below $20 per megawatt hour for the first time, and it’s even lower in areas like the Great Plains. For comparison, in 2009, that number was close to $70 per megawatt hour. Meanwhile, the prices of natural gas have risen in some parts of the country to more than $20 per megawatt hour, currently.
You read that right: Wind power actually costs less than natural gas!
And the news is good for wind energy when compared with electricity. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) predicts that by the end of 2020, onshore wind energy will be a less expensive source of new energy than any fossil fuel alternative.
All of this should make you feel good about using our Green Energy plans to support wind energy for a cleaner and greener future for your community, your country and our planet at-large.
Enroll in a Discount Power Green Energy plan and feel good about turning on your lights! Get started today and learn more about going green; plus, lock in a great rate for a term length that best fits your needs.