ABSTRACT
Wind power supplied about 2.6% of the world electricity demand in 2013 (up from 0.6% in 2005), and the size of that contribution is growing rapidly. Wind energy is the most rapidly expanding source of energy in the world today; over the past 10 years, the worldwide installed capacity of wind energy has grown at an average rate of nearly 25% per year, leading to an installed nameplate capacity at the end of 2012 of about 286,000 MW [1]. As of January 2013, China was the world leader in cumulative installed wind power capacity, with about 75,400 MW installed, followed by the United States with 60,200, Germany with 31,500, Spain with 22,500, India with 18,600, the United Kingdom with 9,100, Italy with 8,000, France with 7,600, Canada with 6,200, and Portugal with 4,400. This 60,000 MW of wind power capacity in the United States reflects a 5-year average annual growth rate of over 29%; it is sufficient to power approximately 15.2 million American households, providing 3.5% of the U.S. electricity consumption in 2012. Over 21% of U.S. electricity providers had wind in their generation mix in 2012, and 42% of new U.S. generating capacity added in 2012 was wind. On April 15, 2012, wind provided a peak of 56.7% of Xcel Energy’s generated electricity in Colorado [2].
