A glut of government-subsidized wind power may help accomplish a goal some environmentalists have sought for decades: kill off U.S. nuclear power plants while reducing reliance on electricity from burning coal. That’s the assessment of executives and utility experts after the U.S. wind-energy industry went on a $25 billion growth binge in 2012, racing to qualify for a federal tax credit that was set to expire at year’s end.
Wind-generated electricity supplied about 3.4% of U.S. demand in 2012 and the share is projected to jump to 4.2% in 2014, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Photographer: Konrad Fiedler/Bloomberg
