A report from the U.S. Department of Energy has found that wind power is capable of becoming a major contributor to America’s electricity supply over the next three decades. The report, 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply, looks closely at one scenario for reaching 20% wind energy by 2030 and contrasts it to a scenario of no new U.S. wind power capacity.
“DOE’s wind report is a thorough look at America’s wind resource, its industrial capabilities, and future energy prices, and confirms the viability and commercial maturity of wind as a major contributor to America’s energy needs, now and in the future,” DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy Andy Karsner, said. “To dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our energy security, clean power generation at the gigawatt-scale will be necessary, and will require us to take a comprehensive approach to scaling renewable wind power, streamlining siting and permitting processes, and expanding the domestic wind manufacturing base.”
Included in the report are an examination of America’s technological and manufacturing capabilities, the future costs of energy sources, U.S. wind energy resources, and the environmental and economic impacts of wind development. Under the 20% wind scenario, installations of new wind power capacity would increase to more than 16,000 megawatts per year by 2018, and continue at that rate through 2030.
“The report shows that wind power can provide 20% of the nation’s electricity by 2030, and be a critical part of the solution to global warming,†said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “This level of wind power is the equivalent of taking 140 million cars off the road,†he said. “The report identifies the central constraints to achieving 20% – transmission, siting, manufacturing and technology – and demonstrates how each can be overcome. As an inexhaustible domestic resource, wind strengthens our energy security, improves the quality of the air we breathe, slows climate change, and revitalizes rural communities.â€
To dowload the full report, please go here.
Great post, thanks!
We’re looking for a few (thousand) good folks (in the U.S.) to support continuing federal incentives for clean energy sources like wind and solar power that produce no global warming pollution. The incentives are scheduled to expire at the end of THIS YEAR. Want to help out? See http://www.powerofwind.org .
Regards,
Tom Gray
American Wind Energy Association