SmartPower is a nationwide, non-profit marketing campaign that is leading the effort to promote clean energy – electricity from sources such as wind, solar and water. It’s our mission to have 20% of the energy supply come from clean, renewab...
The US hasbecome the world leader in windpower, thanks to a recrod setting year in 2008–but China is number two and moving up fast. Overall, installed windpower capacity grew by about 28%, with the US passing Germany to become #1 with over 20% of the worldwide total of windpower–about 25 gigawatts. China, meanwhile, doubled their capacity last year. They still have less than half as much windpower as the US, but it’s easy to see that gap closing quickly. Analysts say new windpower construction will slow down in the US because of the credit crunch. And since we’ve apparetnly sent all our dollars to China, presumably the financing is a little easier to come by there. We’re all sharing the same global ecosystem, of course. So the more wind power and the fewer dirty, greenhouse-gas-spewing coal plants in the world the better off we’ll all be. But the rapid growth of clean energy in China once again illustrates the choice that Tom Friedman presents in Hot, Flat and Crowded: are we going to be the leader in clean energy and energy efficiency or will we sit by the sidelines and let others claim that territory? CNN covered China’s wind industry last year:
The US hasbecome the world leader in windpower, thanks to a recrod setting year in 2008–but China is number two and moving up fast.
Overall, installed windpower capacity grew by about 28%, with the US passing Germany to become #1 with over 20% of the worldwide total of windpower–about 25 gigawatts. China, meanwhile, doubled their capacity last year. They still have less than half as much windpower as the US, but it’s easy to see that gap closing quickly. Analysts say new windpower construction will slow down in the US because of the credit crunch. And since we’ve apparetnly sent all our dollars to China, presumably the financing is a little easier to come by there.
We’re all sharing the same global ecosystem, of course. So the more wind power and the fewer dirty, greenhouse-gas-spewing coal plants in the world the better off we’ll all be. But the rapid growth of clean energy in China once again illustrates the choice that Tom Friedman presents in Hot, Flat and Crowded: are we going to be the leader in clean energy and energy efficiency or will we sit by the sidelines and let others claim that territory?
CNN covered China’s wind industry last year:
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