ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview followed by strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis of the industry. Major trends in wind energy include new growth in offshore development and the growing popularity of distributed, small-scale grid-connected turbines. The new wind projects are in a much wider variety of geographical locations around the world and within countries. The United States has lost its leadership of wind development to China but, because of its natural large wind resources, is likely to remain a major force in the highly competitive wind markets of the future. The principal reason is uncertainty regarding government policies that subsidize wind energy and state and federal Renewable Portfolio Standard policies and programs. The strengths of the use of wind energy production for electricity lie in the relatively mature technology and the inexhaustible supply of wind energy.
