With government money increasingly allocated to sustainable energy projects, offshore wind farms are a burgeoning industry worldwide. In 2010, Britain opened the world's largest offshore wind farm along its southern coast. With 100 turbines stationed eight miles offshore, the Thanet wind farm generates 300 megawatts of electricity-enough energy to power 200,000 British homes. Altogether, Britain harvests 1,341 megawatts from offshore wind, which is more than the rest of the world combined. British leaders are bullish on wind power, aiming to generate 15 percent of the nation's total energy needs by wind turbines by the year 2020.

This achievement is being emulated by other nations. An offshore project being contemplated for Lake Ontario in New York State would outpace energy production at Britain's Thanet wind farm, with 166 windmills generating an astounding 500 megawatts. Meanwhile, Britain is likely to hold its lead in offshore production. Very soon, the United Kingdom plans to go online with a new site called the London Array, championed as the first offshore wind farm capable of producing the fabled one gigawatt, or 1,000 megawatts, of power. However, when total wind power is measured, the United States comes out on top. If the total gigawatts produced by all wind farms-offshore and on-were stacked up, the United States would win the theoretical competition, with 35,000 megawatts versus Britain's 5,000; the United States is the world leader in total wind power-just ahead of Germany.

1. It can be inferred from this passage that

A. Britain will eventually supersede the United States in total energy produced from wind power.
B. The wind power industry makes no distinction between power generated offshore and onshore.
C. Five gigawatts of energy is significantly more than 5,000 megawatts.
D. U.S. wind power output exceeds Britain's solely because the United States has more land.
E. Germany generates more total wind power than Britain.


2. The author cites Britain's goal of deriving 15 percent of the nation's energy needs from wind by 2020 in order to

A. dramatize just how far short Britain has fallen from its stated objectives.
B. underscore the depth of that nation's commitment to wind power.
C. encourage other countries to follow suit with similar energy goals.
D. illustrate the small aspect that wind power plays in Britain's overall energy picture.
E. demonstrate how close Britain is to achieving its aggressive objectives.


3. According to the passage, New York State is contemplating a wind power project that would be built

A. within a few years.
B. out at sea.
C. on farmland.
D. by the New York State government.
E. in a lake.