2. U.S policy A Production Tax Credit (PTC) of 2.2 cent per kilowatt-hour is given for the first ten years of electricity production from utility-scale turbines, which has helped to grow wind power 37% over four years. The PTC is to expire at the end of 2012 unless voted on by Congress for an extension of this current policy. Congress has previously voted on to extend the PTC, and has ended in a dead tie, 49 for to 49 against. If the PTC is not extended investments in wind power will drop 35%, from 15.6billion to 5.5billion dollars in a single year. 37,000 jobs are also expected to be lost if the PTC is not extended.

3. The Power NY Act of 2011 will: -Make it easier and faster to gain permits for new wind power plants - Improve the environment by determining whether a proposed facility will create a disproportionate environmental impact, and requires applicant to minimize or avoid those impacts - Reduce energy demand by allowing homeowners and businesses to pay back loans for energy efficiency upgrades using a surcharge on local utility bills - Create jobs by encouraging investment in new power plants and energy efficiency retrofits A decrease from 80MW to 25MW of power will increase wind farm development potential, for size of power plants can now be much smaller and manageable for small farms and business. NY promotes wind energy as it works towards increasing NY reliance on renewable energies to 30%.

4. Maple Ridge Wind Farm Largest wind farm in New York with 195 Vestas model V82 1.65 megawatt wind turbines.

5. Vindicator Laser System This system has sensors that monitor wind speed and direction in order to automatically adjust the position of turbine blades. They position blades in such a manner that stress is reduced so that more energy is generated. With this fiber optic laser based systems installed at the wind turbines, researchers are expecting to increase its output by 30 percent.

6. SpiDAR System Pentalum Technologies has developed a low- cost device that measures the speed and direction of the wind seconds before it hits the turbine blade. This device transfers all the data it measures with the aid of wind sensors to central headquarters. The scientists sitting there analyze the speed and direction to set a particular position of the turbine blades accordingly to ensure maximum output.

7. Jet-Inspired Wind Turbines Conventionally in a wind turbine, half of the wind energy is spent on rotating the blades while the other half in generating electricity. This wind turbine design effectively increases the speed of the wind when it leaves the blade, thus, increasing its output. With this innovative design one can have the same amount of electricity generated by a turbine of half the size.

8. Roscoe Wind Farm781Texas Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center 736Texas Alta Wind Energy Center720California Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm 705California Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm 662Texas San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm 619California Fowler Ridge Wind Farm600Indiana Sweetwater Wind Farm585Texas Altamont Pass Wind Farm 576California Buffalo Gap Wind Farm524Texas Name of Wind Farm# of KW producedState Located in Wind Farms in U.S

9. As of 31 December 2011, the top five states with the most wind capacity installed are: Texas (10,377 MW)Texas Iowa (4,322 MW)Iowa California (3,927 MW)California Illinois (2,743 MW)Illinois Minnesota (2,733 MW)Minnesota The top five states according to percentage of generation by wind in 2010 are: Iowa (15.4%) North Dakota (12.0%) Minnesota (9.7%) South Dakota (8.3%) Kansas (7.2%)

10. Top 10 countries by windpower electricity production (2010 totals) CountryWindpower production (TWh) % world total United States95.227.6 China55.515.9 Spain43.712.7 Germany36.510.6 India20.66.0 United Kingdom10.23.0 France9.72.8 Portugal9.12.6 Italy8.42.5 Canada8.02.3 (rest of world)(48.5)(14.1) World total344.8 TWh100%

11. Wind power provides jobs : Meteorologists, surveyors, structural engineers, assembly workers, and mechanical operators. Statistics show that every Megawatt of new wind capacity creates nearly twenty jobs Wind power is the least expensive alternative energy at 5 cents per kilowatt hour Self-sufficient so the U.S. doesn’t have to rely on imported energy Wind energy is renewable and doesn’t produce green house gases or other pollutions Wind turbines come in different sizes to support varying population levels. A range of people and businesses can benefit from wind power from single households to small towns and villages. Wind turbine bases take up little space so the land below can still be used for agriculture and farming. Wind turbines range widely in their power ratings, from around 1 MW to 5 MW, each MW of power can produce enough electricity to power from 225 to 300 typical American homes. Pros

12. Cons Wind turbines can be damaged in thunderstorms, because of their tall, thin shape. The website of the National Lightning Safety Institute indicates that most damage to wind turbines is caused by lightning. The blades of wind turbines can hit birds who attempt to fly between them, especially if the turbines are placed in migratory flight patterns. Birds are also affected by the disadvantages of other power generation methods, especially pollution. High mortality was found near wind facilities was Altamont (7,000 turbines), where 182 birds were found dead over a two year study mainly from flying into the turbines. Wind turbines cause interference to nearby television reception. Wind turbines create noise from the turning of the blades. Some people do find it very annoying and stressful. Each one can generate the same level of noise as a family car travelling at 70 mph For wind powered turbines to reach optimum efficiency, the wind resource needs to be at over ten mph for long periods of time. Areas with low wind speed are not suitable for maximum gain. The strength of the wind is not constant and it varies from zero to storm force. This means that wind turbines do not produce the same amount of electricity all the time. There will be times when they produce no electricity at all. Large wind farms are needed to provide entire communities with enough electricity. For example, the largest single turbine available today can only provide enough electricity for 475 homes, when running at full capacity.