Explaining the Ups and Downs of U.S. Wind Power

Brad Plumer describes the state of wind power in the United States. First of all, the country is coming off a strong growth trend in wind power production. "Last year, wind turbines produced 4.1 percent of America's electricity. Some states do even better — Iowa and South Dakota get a quarter of their electricity from wind."

Plumer notes, however that "the US wind boom is likely to start slowing sharply in the near future. Wind power still relies on government support — particularly the federal production tax credit, which can reduce the cost of building a turbine by one-third. And, in the past few years, Congress keeps letting that tax credit expire intermittently, leading to booms and busts in wind construction."

Plumer then goes on to provide six charts that explain the rise and possibly coming fall of U.S. wind power.