I like maps. They can be a such a great tool for visually representing the scope of change.

In late 2008, just a few months after the United States’ installed wind energy capacity topped 20,000 MW, the U.S. became the largest wind power producer in the world. And in 2008, thanks to a (mostly) robust economy and a healthy tax benefit for the utility-scale generation of renewable energy, the U.S. added more new wind energy to the grid than did any other source. Here’s a nice visual representation of that growth:

When the final map for 2009 is made, however, the sagging economy and the frozen credit markets will likely have slowed the meteoric rise in wind energy capacity we saw in 2007 and 2008.

Image: U.S. Department of Energy
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