<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>96 U.S. had World's Fastest Growing Wind Power Capacity in 2005, 2006, Staff, Columbia Basin Energy Report</TITLE> </HEAD> <body bgcolor="FFFFFF" text="000000" link="0000FF" vlink="FF0000" alink="0000FF"> <basefont face="Arial, Tahoma, Times New Roman" size="3" color="#000033"> <TABLE border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0"> <TR align="left" valign="top"> <td><small> <A href="https://sgi25.netservers.net/bluefish.org/thefilm.htm">the film</A><br> <A href="forum.htm">forum</A><br> <A href="library.htm">library</A><br> <A href="tutorial.htm">tutorial</A><br> <A href="contact.htm">contact</A> </small></td> <TD> <A href="economic.htm"><img src="images/economic.gif" border="0" width="110" height="110" align="center" alt="Economic and dam related articles"></a> <TD> <CENTER><FONT FACE="Arial, Helvetica" COLOR="0000FF"> <strong><BIG><H2 align="center">U.S. had World's Fastest Growing
Wind Power Capacity in 2005, 2006</H2> </BIG></STRONG></FONT><FONT COLOR="FF0000">by Staff <BR>Columbia Basin Energy Report, May 31, 2007</FONT></CENTER> </TABLE> <HR> <P align="left"> The U.S. Department of Energy today released its first Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2006, which provides an overview of development and trends in the U.S. wind power market.

The report concludes that U.S. wind power capacity increased by 27 percent in 2006; and that the U.S. had the fastest growing wind power capacity in the world in 2005 and 2006.

More than 61 percent of the U.S.'s total wind capacity - over 7,300 Megawatts (MW) - has been installed since 2001.

In 2006, for the second straight year, the U.S. led the world by installing 2,454 MW of wind power capacity, enough to power the homes in a city the size of Philadelphia.

The U.S. produced roughly 16 percent of the worldwide wind market, followed by Germany, India, Spain, and China.

The report analyzes trends in the marketplace including wind power prices compared to wholesale electricity prices, project costs, turbine sizes, and developer consolidation. It also describes the increasing performance of wind projects, current ownership and financing structures, and trends among major wind power purchasers.

By collecting this information in one publication, the report will provide a resource to industry participants, energy regulators, and state and local policymakers.

Specifically, some of the key findings of the report include:

The full report is available at www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/41435.pdf

<HR> <strong>Staff</strong><br> <A href="http://www.columbiabasinenergyreport.com/Archives/Unrestricted/217769.aspx"> <I>U.S. had World's Fastest Growing Wind Power Capacity in 2005, 2006</I></a><BR> <strong>Columbia Basin Energy Report</STRONG>, May 31, 2007 <HR> <P align="center"><CENTER> <BIG><strong>See what you can learn</STRONG></BIG><P> <A href="topic.htm">learn more on topics covered in the film</A><BR> <A href="https://sgi25.netservers.net/bluefish.org/video.htm">see the video</A><BR> <A href="script.htm">read the script</A><BR> <A href="songs.htm">learn the songs</A><BR> <A href="forum.htm">discussion forum</A><BR> <IMG src="salmon_swimming_md_wht.gif" width=150 height=70 alt="salmon animation"> </CENTER> </basefont> </body> </HTML>