The U.S. surpassed Germany as the biggest producer of wind power in 2008, I guess proving that its alternative energy efforts haven’t just been a load of hot air.
New wind projects made up 42% of the U.S.’s total new power-producing capacity added last year, adding 8.4GW of new facilities into the grid. That brought the U.S. total up to 25GW, one more than Germany’s 24GW.
These figures are coming in from even before the “Obama bounce” expected from the new president’s vows for more clean energy initiatives. Last week, the Senate Finance Committee approved $31 billion in tax breaks to boost alternative energy supplies and efficiency. [Ars Technica and Scientific American]
