Africa/Global: What role will wind power play in our energy future?

Wind energy is zero-emissions energy, a renewable resource that many environmentalists and alternative energy proponents feel is one of our last, best hopes for staving off devastating climate change. Globally, wind energy has grown 500 percent since 1997. In 2003, 8,133 megawatts of wind-generating capacity were installed worldwide. This brought the world’s total wind power generating capacity to 39,294 megawatts, enough to power 19 million European households.