Advances in wind-turbine technology have helped make the turbines viable in more sites. That increases the time of year when wind turbines can produce power, and take more demand off the hydro system. Wind power is also stable, because its cost does not fluctuate with the price of fuel. And it helps diversify the region's power sources. Both benefits are powerfully attractive in the current energy crisis.
Wind is still a distant stepchild to the region's other power supplies.
But although natural gas is a cleaner fossil fuel than coal, burning gas produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming. Gas supplies and pipeline capacities are also tight, and the price of gas is high and expected to remain so. All of that makes wind an attractive alternative. With a diversified electricity system that starts with conservation and adds renewables, we will have a clean and more stable power supply.