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Cost of a 386-foot-tall electricity-generating wind turbine at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, in northwest Massachusetts. In its first full year of operation, the 1.5-megawatt windmill with three 123-foot blades (shown) blew $200,000 off the ski area's average annual electric bill of $635,000. "We now make twice the amount of snow, with half the amount of money that we did 15 years ago," said Jiminy Peak CEO Brian Fairbank to the Associated Press in this story. The resort projects that it will eventually earn $200,000 a year by selling electricity it generates and producing tax credits.
Other U.S. ski area are also looking to harness the wind from their own mountain tops, a sign of a growing interest in this power source. In 2008, the U.S. passed Germany to become the world leader in wind-power installations, according to a recent release from the Global Wind Energy Council.
That news should please President Barack Obama, who wants to double the production of renewable energy over the next three years. "We look forward to working with the President Obama and the new Congress on policies to restore the industry's vital momentum and achieve President Obama's goal," said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.
Essential information: Learn about the Buzzword IMBY and the controversy that's been kicked up by wind power in some communities.
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