[Windpower] accounts for about a third of all new electricity production. No. Here is the Wikipedia quote: "Wind power accounted for 35% of all new U.S. electr

[Windpower] accounts for about a third of all new electricity production. No. Here is the Wikipedia quote: "Wind power accounted for 35% of all new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2007." (Emphasis mine.) Capacity is not production. Capacity-factor helps us understand how much production we can expect from a given capacity. Here are the capacity-factors of two recently-installed wind turbines: http://www.hullwind.org http://www.hullwind.org Sept 25, 2008 Hull 1 Hull 2 660 KW 1.8 MW Total Generation - kWhs 10,262,150 8,127,391 Days Commissioned 2464 877 Hours generating 39,050 14,050 Capacity Factor 26.3% 21.5% Hull 1 is a turbine that was built to replace an older one that -- as frequently happens to wind turbines, but has never happened to a nuclear power reactor -- had been destroyed in a storm. (http://www.hullwind.org/history.php http://www.hullwind.org/history.php) Being destroyed in a storm further hurts lifetime capacity-factor.