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Societal Relevance
With a decreasing reserve of nonrenewable resources like natural gas and oil and rising utility rates, “going green” is extremely relevant to our current society. Systems that utilize renewable resources can help reduce energy costs and keep current lifestyle sustainable into the future. Wind has been used increasingly over the past decade or so. Currently wind energy accounts for 2.3% of the electricity produced in the United States. The U.S. is second only to China in total installed capacity for wind power. However, in percentage of power produced by wind, the U.S. is much further down on the list. The leaders in percentage of power produced by wind are Denmark (21%), Portugal (18%), and Spain (16%).
There are currently tax breaks at the federal and state level for households who supplement traditional power inputs with power from renewable sources. In the states of Maryland, a tax break of $0.0085/kWh produced through wind energy is available through the Clean Energy Production Tax Credit. The federal government has the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit which provides a personal tax credit of 30% for power provided by wind. For wind turbines placed n service after beginning in 2009, there is no maximum incentive.
There are currently tax breaks at the federal and state level for households who supplement traditional power inputs with power from renewable sources. In the states of Maryland, a tax break of $0.0085/kWh produced through wind energy is available through the Clean Energy Production Tax Credit. The federal government has the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit which provides a personal tax credit of 30% for power provided by wind. For wind turbines placed n service after beginning in 2009, there is no maximum incentive.