WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Department of Energy released a report examining the technical feasibility of using wind power to generate 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs by 2030.
The report outlined a scenario that would boost wind electric generation from current levels of 16.8 GW to 304 GW by 2030, saving 825 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2030 and every year afterward.
"20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030" points to the necessity of reducing the cost of wind technologies, enhancing domestic manufacturing capability, setting up new transmission infrastructure, streamlining siting and permitting regimes, and improving the reliability of wind power.
The report states that annual installations of wind turbines must more than triple to achieve 20 percent wind energy, with 7,000 installations by 2017. It also pointed out integrating intermittent wind power into the grid would cost only five cents per kilowatt hour and would not be limited by material demands such as copper and fiberglass.
Not all greeted the report with full enthusiasm. Wind Energy Corp. CEO James R. Fugitte said the report focused too heavily on large-scale wind farms, new transmission lines and expansion of the U.S. electricity grid. Fugitte recommended his company's "distributive" model of providing wind power directly to consumers and businesses rather than selling wind power to the national power grid.
"The answer to our energy needs can't simply be massive wind farms located in high-wind areas and the construction of thousands of miles of new transmission lines, which is significantly expensive," Fugitte said. "Using distributive solutions, in virtually any environment, and putting wind energy directly in the hands of individuals, gives people the power to lower their costs, improve the environment and combat climate change. It's not the only solution, but distributive power is certainly part of the solution."
