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Today, America harnesses more than 21,000 MW of electric energy from wind; enough to meet the needs of 5.5 million average homes. And, according to the Department of Energy (see “20% Wind Energy by 2030” below), wind can provide much more... as much as 20% of America’s energy needs.

Did you know that the modern wind turbine was invented in Cleveland in 1887? The famous inventor of the arc light and co-founder of General Electric, Charles Brush, built a large wind turbine in the backyard of his Cleveland home which consistently generated power for more than 20 years. In addition, many of today’s amazing advances in wind turbine technology were developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and much of the wind energy industry's success worldwide can be attributed to the research conducted at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). The pioneering research of these two organizations of the Department of Energy has led to the development of today’s multi-megawatt wind turbines which produce electric energy at a cost that is now competitive with conventional energy sources like fossil-fuels.