Wind farms expand with federal aid

DENVER (AP) - The nation's wind industry is continuing to open new wind farms with the help of nearly $1 billion in federal stimulus grant money.

The American Wind Energy Association reported Tuesday that developers installed 1,649 megawatts of wind power capacity--enough to serve the equivalent of 480,000 average households--in the third quarter. That is about 18.7 percent more than a year earlier.

The trade group says turbine production from July to September was less than 50 percent of what it was a year ago because of excess supply.

The association says it expects the industry to add about 6,000 megawatts of additional wind-generated capacity this year, down from the 8,358 megawatts installed in 2008.