US wind energy resource potential tripled

The Dept. of Energy released new estimates of wind energy potential from a study carried out by the National Renewable Energy Lab and AWS Truewind, that are triple previous estimates. The resource increased in part due to measuring wind at 80 m heights rather than 50 m, as wind turbines are reaching higher and tapping higher wind velocities.   Below, Arizona's annual average wind speed at a height of 80 m.