CHICAGO — A nagging issue wound its way through the chatter at what was an otherwise celebratory event for the nation’s wind industry in Chicago.
The U.S. has become the world’s biggest wind-power generator and of the electricity production added last year, 42 percent came from wind turbines.
But as more megawatts come on-line, the problem of getting power from wind-swept plains to places where people actually live becomes more urgent.
"In some ways we’re reaching the glass ceiling,” said Rob Gramlich, vice president of policy at the American Wind Energy Association.
It was the organization’s biggest annual conference to date, drawing 1,200 exhibitors and more than 20,000 people.
Some key issues
The country’s grid is aging, often overloaded and, in the case of states such as Wyoming and North Dakota, not nearly extensive enough to move electricity to major markets where customers wait.
The wind industry group says it needs 19,000 miles of new high-voltage lines — at a cost of about $100 billion — for wind-farm developers to keep building.
That barrier, Gramlich said, could imperil President Barrack Obama’s goal for the country of generating 25 percent of its electric supply through renewable energy by 2025.
by the associated press
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