While that sounds like a lot of power, it should be noted that, according to the same report, this also represents just 2.5 percent of global electricity demand. But statistics from show that the global capacity it tracks has grown an average of 29.2 percent annually since 1995. In five years, that could put wind power capacity at 1,548 terawatt-hours, or nine percent of current global demand.

Projections aside, there's a lot of energy to be had right now in wind energy, but like anything that depends on nature as a resource, there's also a lot of risk.

Hitting the target

If you look at the US Department of Energy's , even the most casual observer can see that some areas of the country are better suited for wind energy production than others.

And to a large degree, many onshore wind farms are indeed located in the areas of larger wind potential. If you travel to western Indiana, you should expect to find a number of wind farms, and sure enough, there are many wind turbines dotting the flat western Indiana farmland.