Inexhaustible, emission-free, no processing, no shipping, no hazardous waste...

When we think of windmills, we conjure up images of Holland, the western plains, medieval Spain and even ancient China. From ancient times to the present, windmills have been used to grind grain and pump water. By the 1890s, windmills were also being used to generate electricity in remote areas of Denmark.

Today, wind power is the world's fastest growing source of electricity.

According to the United States Department of Energy, wind could supply power to 25 million homes or 6 percent of our total electricity by 2020. The National Wind technology Center calculates that the United States has the potential to generate more than one and a half times our current electricity consumption. Since costs are dropping and the technology is constantly improving, wind generated electrical power is fast becoming an important ingredient in our electric power mix.

Of all the renewable energy sources, wind power has become the most competitive with fossil fuels and according to the Department of Energy, new turbines have lowered the price from $.80 per KWH to from $.04 to $.06 today. It is not only renewable but it is virtually emissions-free, there are no processing or shipping costs and it leaves no hazardous waste. Once on line, wind turbines do not consume any fuels, domestic or imported.

Because wind is the result of currents caused by solar energy, it is a form of solar power. Like solar power, it is also variable, affected by climate, season and terrain, which makes some areas more productive than others. Unlike solar, however, winds may blow 24/7, thereby having the potential to provide around-the-clock power. Several utilities are also exploring the harnessing of ocean waves to generate electricity, a potentially more reliable source of energy than wind itself, though also variable.

Like solar energy, wind power is renewable and emissions-free, compared to natural gas, oil or coal. Today 50% of the nation's electricity is produced by burning coal, spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide and risking miner's lives to extract it. Though we have enough coal to last an estimated 250 years, we will not be able to reach our targets in reducing emissions and slowing global warming without constructing cleaner power plants at great expense or sequestering carbon,