Global electricity from wind power will reach 12 percent by 2050, requiring 3.2 trillion dollars to be invested over the next 40 years. In 2009, wind power additions in the United States were valued at 21 billion dollars, reaching nearly 10GW of new capacity. Despite the financial crisis in 2009 and the significant reductions in wholesale electricity prices that began in mid 2008, cumulative wind power capacity grew by 39 percent during this time period. For the 5th consecutive year, wind power was the second-largest new resource added to the electric grid. States' renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policies will require 73 GW of new renewable capacity by 2025, 6 percent of the total US retail electricity sales for that year and 30 percent of the projected load growth between 2000 and 2025. There are several advantages to using a ducted nacelle for a vertical axis wind turbine. The ducted nacelle may increase the wind speed from compressed laminar airflow into the turbine, producing more power and increasing the economic feasibility of deploying the turbine to previously undesirable wind map locations. Most of the 2 million farming and ranching locations across the country have connections to the grid by distribution lines. This established infrastructure will facilitate sustainable renewable energy development while mitigating climate change and increasing reliance in the national grid. Variations in size can support a large array of potential nameplate capacity and easily be fitted with a tower to reach premium wind speed conditions. Depending on landowner consumption and the wind turbine's nameplate capacity, small to mid-size farms could potentially erase their electric bill while profiting from the sale of excess generation.
