Perspective

Grid reliability is one giant step in mainstreaming the technology.

Wind power is coming of age in the United States. During the past five years, installations have grown by an average 28 percent yearly. Gleaming, high-tech wind turbines now are interconnected to the bulk power grid in some 30 states. The membership of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has tripled in recent years and now includes such manufacturing and energy giants as General Electric, FPL Energy, ScottishPower, and American Electric Power.

As wind power expands, increasingly energy company CEOs are facing the question of whether to invest. Some, like Terry Hudgens, CEO of PPM Energy, or the senior management team at FPL Energy, already have propelled their companies ahead of the wind power curve. Still, misconceptions linger about wind energy's potential (can wind ever be more than a niche market?), its feasibility (won't a variable resource like wind wreak havoc on the grid?), and its cost (doesn't every megawatt of wind need to be backed up with a megawatt of firm power?). This update will dispel some of those misconceptions and spotlight the real challenges and opportunities in bringing more of this new product to the wires.