The one thing to remember about wind energy capacity is to ask the question "At what price?" which implies "At what hub height wind speed?". Using some of the newly introduced "big rotor" turbines (like the Nordex N-100 x 2.5 MW, the Siemens S101.2 x 2.3 MW, the Fuhrlaender FL-2500 (100 meter rotor diameter) in combination with 95 to 100 meter tall towers introduces even more wind turbine electricity potential to the US. These turbines are very well suited for the NE and Great Lakes region, where the presence of trees and hills degrades the wind resource near the ground.

I think that a great example of this is onshore potential in Ohio.  If you look at the 70 meter hub height, the potential doesn't look great, about  2500 MW viable on shore.  But if you look at 100 meters, the picture is much, much better, the estimate is  201,220 MW viable. Now of course that's nameplate, and actual generation is maybe 30% of that, but that's still about half the state's current electrical production. And counts nothing offshore.

Bottom line, even in Ohio, where the onshore potential isn't nearly as great as in Indiana or Michigan, a serious effort could easily get wind to 5-10% of total generation.  I don't think that the seasonal variation in wind is as bad on shore as on Erie.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg