Wind Energy Boom Sweeping U.S., Industry Watchers Say

U.S. citizens are beginning to come to terms with the country's energy needs and are finding an answer blowing in the wind, according to electric power industry experts.

Last year, and again this year, wind is going to be the second largest source of new power generation coming online, said Christine Real de Azua, a spokesperson for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) in Washington, D.C.

Natural gas remains the leader in new generating capacity, but wind, which currently supplies less than one percent of the nation's energy, is booming, she adds.

This year alone, the industry is on course to add 3,000 megawatts of wind power generation. The country's total wind power capacity was just 2,500 megawatts in 2000, Real de Azua says.

A megawatt is enough electricity to power 250 to 300 average U.S. homes, according to AWEA.