According to a new report by the Department of Energy, wind power could provide 20% of U.S. electricity needs and reduce carbon emissions by 7.6 gigatons (billion tons) annually by 2030. The report, 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply, identifies steps that must be taken to reach the 20% goal, including reducing the cost of wind technologies, building new transmission infrastructure to connect remote windy areas to the grid and increasing domestic manufacturing capability. Hitting the target also means that annual installations of wind turbines will have to increase from 2,000 to almost 7,000 per year by 2017, and that total generating capacity must rise from 16.8 gigawatts (GW) today to 304 GW in 2030. Though daunting, the authors write that the 20% target can be met at an additional cost of less than $0.05 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) — compared with today’s average retail electricity price in the U.S. of about $0.09 per kWh — and won’t be blocked by demand for limited copper, fiberglass and other raw materials needed to build wind farms. Last year, the U.S. added more than 5,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power for a total of more than 17,000 MW, and wind was the second largest source of new power generation in the U.S. after natural gas.

• Read background on and the complete 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply (PDF, 4 MB), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, DOE, May 2008
• Read more: “Clean Energy Trends 2008 Report Cites Major Growth in Clean Energy” (e-Newswire, 3/19/08)
• Read more: “Airborne Wind Turbines Provide Steady Source of Electricity” (Power Plug, 1/31/08)
• Read more: “Stanford Researchers Say Offshore Wind Can Supply Up to 100% of California’s Electricity” (e-Newswire, 1/19/08)
• Read more: “New Wind Turbine Blade Design More Efficient, Reduces Cost at Low-Wind-Speed Sites, Say Researchers” (e-Newswire, 2/21/07)