The May, 2005 issue of
The Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres sports a new series of maps, highlighting the location of the best spots for generating massive amounts of wind-energy.
You might find the results a bit shocking:
Wind power could provide up to forty times more electricity than worldwide demand.
LiveScience offers this method summary:
Scientists gathered wind speed data from about 8,000 locations on the planet - 7,500 surface stations and 500 balloon-launch stations. They measured the wind speeds 260 feet (80 meters) above the ground surface, which is the height of a modern wind turbine's hub.
At the surface stations, they could only measure wind speeds at 33 feet (10 meters), but they developed a method to figure out what that meant for winds at the more important height.
They found that 13 percent of the 8,000 spots were capable of averaging Class 3 wind speeds throughout the course of the year. Class 3 winds are greater than 15.4 mph (6.9 meters per second), which is considered strong enough to be economically feasible.
North American Wind Energy Potential:
[for a larger image click here]
World Wind Energy Potential:
[for a larger image click here]
Again, LiveScience:
If harnessed, these sites with Class 3 and higher wind speeds could provide 72 terawatts of electricity - enough to run 1.2 trillion 60-watt light bulbs or 48 billion toasters.
[snip]
About 2.5 million wind turbines -- together capturing about 20 percent of what's available based on the new maps -- would be needed to produce all the world's electrical needs.
[emphasis mine]
This may sound outlandish at first but consider that Colorado has a potential wind capacity of: 54,900 in megawatts, New Mexico has a 50,000 megawatt potential, Montana - 116,000 megawatts, Wyoming - 85,000 megawatts, Arizona - 35,430 megawatts. Also consider that Colorado is currently only producing 229 megawatts of wind energy, New Mexico - 267, Montata - 2 and Arizona - 0
(Source: American Wind Energy Association)
About 1% of America's energy currently comes from the wind.
What this study shows is the enormous potential of alternative resources. Its time Congress wake up and smell the coffee.
As I said yesterday wind and solar will not supply all of our energy needs. Our nation must pursue a balanced, multi-pronged approach to energy policy that includes all types of energy sources - the bulk being so-called "green energies".
Work like this should lend a powerful incentive to policy makers and energy companies as it helps them locate the best spots for wind energy development and shows the vast potential for accessing such a resource.
Additional maps are available at: The Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres