In the United States, we have been working on scaling up wind
energy but not getting very far. In 2010, wind energy supplied
only 2.3% of electricity purchased. Such slow progress seems
strange for a product that seems to have such great promise. It
can reduce CO2 emissions. It doesn’t require fuel. It is at
least partly US made. The popular view is that it could
eventually replace gasoline, but that view is very optimistic
because electricity is very different from gasoline, and because
of the scalability issue. Figure 1. Wind energy (dark green) is
barely visible in a graph of US energy consumption by source.
Based on EIA data. In this post, I discuss a few of the
obstacles facing wind energy in the United States, and their
implications for the expansion of wind energy. Obstacle 1: Wind
energy is dependent on large subsidies. According to the EIA’s
report, Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in
Energy in Fiscal Year 2010, wind energy received subsidies of
$4.986 billion from the federal gov