Wind Can Supply 20% Of US Energy Needs, Study Finds

I was on several recent road trips the last year across the Great Plains, and the growth in the number of wind farms and turbines visible just from the interstate highways from the Dakotas and Minnesota south into Iowa and Nebraska is astonishing.

A new study confirms my anecdotal observations: energy production from wind is happening, and can expand to meet perhaps 20% of the nation's energy needs, but with substantial infrastructure required.

To which I say, "great."

Let's keep it going, or get started.

When I see wind turbines, I see jobs, and I see energy security, as the electricity being generated is not produced with petroleum purchases from unstable and unfriendly foreign governments or owners.

And I see much cleaner energy - - fewer cases of asthma, heart disease and other ailments traced to the burning of fossil fuels.

Not to mention hydrocarbons that are not sent skyward to contribute to climate change.

Not every acre of land is suitable for a turbine. I know that. Cities and subdivisions and native plants and grasses in rural areas need protections and mindfulness, obviously.

That said, there is plenty of space where these concerns can and are being respected while building turbines that meet economic and social needs.

As to wind power, full speed ahead.