Rising Wind

Wind Energy Potential Doesn't Always Equal Production

Whether states become significant wind-energy producers has as much or more to do with public policy as it does with the wind resource available, according to John Dunlop of the American Wind Energy Association. Texas, with the second-strongest wind resource in the country, ranked dead last in production until the state mandated production a few years ago, he says. Likewise, states with only a so-so wind resource, like Washington or Oregon, have become relatively strong producers of wind energy because of strong policy initiatives.