New wind resource maps are showing the ability for advanced wind turbines to reach stronger winds higher above the ground, unlocking a previously untapped wind resource area in the USA that the US Department of Energy (DOE) says could eventually bring wind energy development to every state in America.
Enabling Wind Power Nationwide builds upon the DOE’s Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power report released this past March, which shows wind energy can become one of America’s top electricity sources, and save consumers money while doing so. At 110-meter hub heights, DOE expects the land area with physical potential for wind deployment in the U.S. to increase 54 per cent and at 140-meter hub heights, the potential wind deployment would increase 67 per cent. Advancement in turbine technology, including raising hub heights to 140 meters and lowering specific power, would open up an additional one-fifth of the land area of the United States for wind turbine locations. According to DOE’s recently released Wind Vision report, select areas in the Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast are expected to see economical wind deployment for the first time due to this next generation of wind turbine technology, including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, which currently have no commercial wind turbines, and additional parts of Michigan and Minnesota.