Wind Power is Going to the Big City

Wind power, long used on farms for tasks such as pumping water, is finally moving to the big city. The renewable resource, which is being used to aerate ponds and generate electricity, is producing surprising savings, ROI, and opportunity for a wide range of city folk, from businesses like John Deere dealers; to cities like Montpelier, ID; to schools like Sault College in Ontario, Canada and Autry Technology Center in Enid, OK. "Wind energy is the fastest growing source of electricity in the world," states the website of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. "In the United States, a record 2,431 MW of wind power was installed in 2005, capable of producing enough electricity to power 650,000 typical homes." Resource assessments have found that the windy areas (class three and above) in the United States, if fully developed, could supply more than four times the nation?s current electricity needs.