In 2005, the wind energy industry of the United States exceeded all earlier annual records for installed capacity. Last year the wind energy industry installed almost 2500 megawatts of new equipment to generate wind power worth more than $3 billion. According to the American Wind Energy Association, these were installed in 22 different states. In 2006, expected wind energy installations are predicted to top 3000 megawatts.

The final 2431 megawatt wind energy total exceeded 2004 by more than 35 percent, which gave the U.S. a wind energy capacity of 9149 megawatts total. Now commercial wind turbine commercial equipment products have been installed in 30 states.

The wind energy installations that the U.S. now has will be able to deliver electricity equal to the needs of 2.3 million U.S. households. The second advantage of this wind energy is that it displaces carbon dioxide emissions totaling 15 million tons each year. These carbon dioxide emissions are the top cause of greenhouse gas.

The U.S. congress made these record shattering numbers possible with its extension of the credit for wind energy production. The American Wind Energy Association announced its pleasure with the extension, stating that now companies could hope to grow, to create new jobs and to provide an abundance of clean wind energy driven power to customers throughout the U.S. It seems as though the United States is finally starting to tap into the vast energy of the wind.

This phenomenal growth in construction of wind energy facilitators comes as customers face gas and electric hikes of great proportion due to increasing gas prices brought on primarily by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. Fuel prices went as high as $15 per thousand cubic foot as compared with last year's $5-$7 averages.

Wind power, and its ability to generate energy without the use of fossil fuel, is now being realized as a hedge against these rising fuel energy costs. Wind energy production is not affected by fuel costs and thus very attractive right now.

Interesting nuclear energy reports include the fact that California leads the U.S. pack with the highest number of wind energy facilities, although Texas isn't far behind and Iowa a close third. Minnesota and Oklahoma come in fourth and fifth.

The firms responsible for the greatest manufacture of the wind energy turbines are General Electric, which makes 60 percent of the turbines; Vestas which produces 30 percent and Mitsubishi that supplies about 8 percent of the wind energy turbines that the U.S. uses. The fourth and fifth wind energy suppliers, respectively, are Suzion and Gamesa.

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