Is Kansas The New Saudi Arabia?

Photo:
Image from Peter Pi

No we don't mean that the citizens of the state will be under the rule of princes and will take camels to work. That would be hilarious, but no. Our comparison is of utilities and in particular, energy.

You see, on the heels of the first high-res carbon emission map of the U.S. comes the first high-res map of the wind sweeping across the lower 48 and it's carrying wonderful news for those who wish energy independence. The company behind the survey, AWS Truewind (who promote wind power) decided to collect the data in order to spur development. This widely redefines the American approach to wind power, as previously only Texas was making great strides in that area.

The AWS survey has completely remapped the United States 200 meters at a time and in so doing, has redefined some preconceived notions. Our friends over at Clean Technica mention that Illinois was previously listed as only category 2 winds for power generation, whilst the AWS survey shows that data to be fundamentally flawed. The Land of Lincoln is ripe with category 5, 6, and 7 winds, a testament to its Midwestern geography and the lake effect in the north.

Photo:
Image from AWS

This comes at the same time that another one of the world's great believers in oil is getting good press about wind power. Norway has begun to embrace the icy blasts off of the North Sea as a way to keep the lights burning long after the oil and natural gas resources run out. With 15 wind parks built, the commitment would seem light, but 150 more have been authorized, and StatoilHydro, a Norwegian energy giant, is experimenting with floating offshore wind turbines. They would each power 1,000 homes and would be capable of operating in 1,7000 meters of water.

[CleanTechnica][AWS][AFP]

Environmental Graffiti is up for four bloggers’ choice awards. You can vote for us for best entertainment blog, best blog of all time, best geek blog and best animal blogger.

If you want to find out all the latest news on the environment, why not subscribe to our RSS feed? We’ll even throw in a free album.

License:

Attribution-Share Alike

3 comments

Popular in Politics

3 comments

Comments

Lars (not verified) says:

Jun 9th, 2008 at 8pm

Hmmm. Seems like small potatoes. All that blight
for just 1,000 homes?

I'm sorry, it's just that we tend to think too
small. The world needs to put solar collectors
into Space, either in geosynchronous orbit, or
on the Moon. It's the only way to save this planet
from wars, famine, and gridlock. Electric cars
are in the pipeline and the Sun can run them
all and heat and cool your homes. We just need
a team effort to get this project done, and NOW.

Add comment

Uncle B (not verified) says:

Jun 11th, 2008 at 10pm

The only thing that has ever driven anything has been famine and shortages. High oil prices are putting oil out of the reach of average Americans, and we are burning food! Watch out, next we will be driven to exploit the solar electric power in the South Western deserts, the wind power from central states, wave and hydro electric power wherever we can get it and sell our souls to pay for it. In the mean time old dying corporations like GM are spending millions to develop 620hp, 9mpg Corvettes for Arab princes and we are buying bicycles. The time is at hand!