Wind energy production saw one of its busiest years in 2013, according to a May 2014 news release from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Carbon dioxide emissions were cut by an excess of 5% in 2013, which is the equivalent of removing at least 20 million cars off the roads in the U.S.
A massive 126.8 million tons of total carbon emissions were removed by the use of wind energy in 2013. In the U.S., some states had reached higher carbon emission reduction rates than the national average.
There were 11 different states that lowered their carbon dioxide emissions by 10% in comparison to the 2011 levels specifically from wind energy, AWEA reported.
Texas leading the way in wind energy
In Texas, the total wind energy production reached an all-time high, with 10,296 megawatts produced to its main grid operator in March 2014, Clean Technica reported. Of the 35,786 megawatts being used in the state, 29% of the energy total was coming from Texas wind energy.
Not only did wind energy provide nearly a third of the Texas' total energy, but it also had the highest amount of carbon dioxide emission reductions in the nation in 2013, which was followed by Illinois, California and Colorado, AWEA reported.
Sulfur emissions drop as wind production expands
The total wind energy production also dropped the amount of sulfur dioxide emissions in the U.S. by nearly 347 million pounds per year, AWEA noted. The total nitrous oxide emissions were also lowered by 214 million pounds per year from the continuous growth of wind energy in the nation.
AWEA found that while in 2003 the total wind energy production only made up 0.3% of the nation's power generation, it increased to 1.3% by 2008. One of the biggest contributors to the increase in wind turbines has been the affordability.
Cost of wind falling
In the last five years, the typical purchase price of wind energy has decreased by more than 40%, which is only second to natural gas for the lowest cost source of new electric generation in the country, said AWEA.
With wind production changing the energy game in the U.S., wind turbine owners and operators can turn to Broadwind Energy for comprehensive uptower gearbox and blade repair services to keep farms running efficiently.