Pennsylvania Wind Power

Vivian Kleijnjans

If Pennsylvanians embraced the full potential of wind energy, the power produced each year by wind power would equal 38,000,000 megawatt-hours - or 30% of the entire state's electricity consumption.

Pennsylvania Wind Generation Capacity by Year

Pennsylvania is home to one of the nation's most progressive alternative energy portfolio standards

18% of all energy generated in the Commonwealth comes from clean, efficient sources

PA is one of two states with a portfolio standard that includes energy efficiency

It’s standard surpasses any other state requirement for solar energy

Market share for solar that is some 300% greater than anywhere else in the country.

$10 billion in increased output for Pennsylvania, $3 billion in additional earnings Between 3500 and 4000 new jobs for residents over the

next 20 years.

Pennsylvania is at the Top and Continues to Grow

Economic prosperity to rural areas Reduces the state's dependence on

polluting energy sources Wind development creates three times as

many jobs per dollar as do fossil fuel power projects

Every new megawatt of wind energy creates between 15 and 19 jobs

Wind Energy and Jobs

A Black & Veatch study in Pennsylvania suggested that if the state increased the renewable share of its electricity supply to only 10%, the change would result in 85,000 additional job-years for Pennsylvanians.

Possible Growth in Pennsylvania

One wind turbine occupies only 1/4 acre of land, including access roads.

Farming, ranching, forestry, and other land use can continue freely on land occupied by wind turbines.

Farmers and rural landowners can generate their own power

landowners can earn over $2000 a year for each wind turbine installed on their property

Benefits of Wind Energy

Wind power is free The cost of wind power to Pennsylvanian

consumers is not affected by the fluctuations of global markets, unlike fossil fuel prices.

Wind energy is a 100% pollution free energy source Provides a reliable and sustainable supply of

electricity without contributing to air pollution or global warming.

Increasing Pennsylvania's wind energy supply decreases our need for dirty fossil fuel power plants powered by coal and other limited resources.

Benefits of Wind Energy

There are 17 operating wind farms in Pennsylvania In 2007, Montgomery county became the first

wind-powered county in the nation, with a two-year commitment to buy 100 percent of its electricity from a combination of wind energy and renewable energy credits derived from wind energy.

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored Swarthmore, PA as a Green Power community, the only one in the Eastern U.S., for its commitment to buy clean energy generated from wind turbines in mountainous region of western Pennsylvania.

Communities and Wind Farms

Wind Farms In Pennsylvania

24 megawatt wind energy facility located in the Pocono Mountains

12 Turbines Expected to produce over 75 million

kilowatt-hours of wind energy annually. In operation since 2006

The Bear Creek Wind Power Project

Largest wind generation facility in Pennsylvania, and the second largest east of the Mississippi River.

43 1.5 megawatt turbines located along the ridge of Moosic Mountain in

Wayne County, northeast of Scranton. Generates enough electricity to power 22,000

homes. Owned by FPL Energy, Waymart's energy is purchased by Exelon Generation and is used in Pennsylvania.

Produces 64.5 megawatts of power annually

Waymart Wind Energy Center

Located in Somerset County Situated on land reclaimed from a coal strip

mine. 8 1.3 MW turbines Total output of 10.4 MW Enough to power 3,300 homes.

Green Mountain Wind Energy Center

Produces 30 MW of clean energy for use Powers10,000 homes 20 Wind Turbines Annual output of 20 Megawatts

Meyersdale Wind Energy Center

The 17 wind projects currently operating in Pennsylvania have an installed capacity of 786.1 MW and generate about 2,065,871 megawatt-hours of clean electricity each year.

That's enough to power nearly 229,541 homes.

If we install our full potential of 4,000 MW of wind energy, we will be able to produce enough clean power to meet the annual electricity needs of 1,168,000 homes.

The Future of Wind Energy

http://www.presqueisleaudubon.org/conserv.html

http://www.pawindenergynow.org/pa/farms.html

http://www.pennfuture.org/content.aspx?SectionID=192&MenuID=

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wind/index.aspx http://

www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/business/s_772572.html

References