Wind energy systems generate electricity by using turbines to capture the wind’s energy. Many locations in the United States have good wind resources. Evaluating the quality of the wind resource at a specific site is critical to determining if it is suitable. Before making any investment decision, companies should commission a professional wind study, which evaluates the quality and consistency of a site’s wind resource potential.

Credit: National Renewable Energy Labs and WRI.

In 2008, China's National Development and Reform Commission adopted a standard requiring all new coal-fired power plants to be state-of-the-art commercially available or better technology. As a result, today most of the world’s most efficient (supercritical and ultra-supercritical) coal-fired power plants are being built in China.

Improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon intensity in the power sector have been major goals for the Chinese government. This trend contrasts with the United States, where new coal-fired power plants built in the 1980s and 1990s were actually less efficient than those built in the 1970s. While China is still increasing its overall electricity output at a rapid rate - slightly more than one power plant per week - new power plants both add to capacity and replace less efficient, smaller power plants and direct (and very dirty) coal-burning at industrial sites.

American manufacturers fear that the imbalances created by aggressive climate policy in the United States could contribute significantly to the “offshore-ing” of jobs and relocation of industry to countries with lower standards and production costs.