Sustainable Energy Transitioner
Ushering in a Climate Responsible Energy Future
DOE Report Envisions Wind Powering 20% of US Electricity in 2030
After my
post
yesterday on the potential of wind and solar to provide all new
energy needs in the US by the mid-2010s, I was heartened to see the
US Department Of Energy agree that wind has such strong potential.
They just released a report that concludes wind can replace 11% of natural gas and 18% of coal in 2030, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by almost one billion tons per year. Wind would grow from ~18 GW that produces ~1% of US electricity today to 300 GW, producing 20% of US electricity, in 2030.
I was excited to see the report’s bold vision for the US to lead what would be nothing less than an energy revolution. The US would pass Germany as the biggest cumulative wind producer by 2010 and help drive innovation in a key climate-friendly technology. Advances made in the US could help bring electricity to people all over the world who are struggling to keep up with rising fossil fuel prices and open opportunities for job creation in an industry that can be both highly profitable and good for the Earth.
The even better news is that 300 GW would not exhaust the vast US wind potential, which is higher than 2 TW (2,000 GW)! We are so rich in wind potential that the state of North Dakota has much greater wind resources than all of Germany, the world’s leading wind producer.
Teaming up with solar, geothermal, hydro, and nuclear, we could get more than half of our power from zero-carbon sources by 2030. There is a role for everyone in this transition; from the entrepreneur to the scientist to the policymaker to the factory worker. So let’s get moving!
They just released a report that concludes wind can replace 11% of natural gas and 18% of coal in 2030, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by almost one billion tons per year. Wind would grow from ~18 GW that produces ~1% of US electricity today to 300 GW, producing 20% of US electricity, in 2030.
I was excited to see the report’s bold vision for the US to lead what would be nothing less than an energy revolution. The US would pass Germany as the biggest cumulative wind producer by 2010 and help drive innovation in a key climate-friendly technology. Advances made in the US could help bring electricity to people all over the world who are struggling to keep up with rising fossil fuel prices and open opportunities for job creation in an industry that can be both highly profitable and good for the Earth.
The even better news is that 300 GW would not exhaust the vast US wind potential, which is higher than 2 TW (2,000 GW)! We are so rich in wind potential that the state of North Dakota has much greater wind resources than all of Germany, the world’s leading wind producer.
Teaming up with solar, geothermal, hydro, and nuclear, we could get more than half of our power from zero-carbon sources by 2030. There is a role for everyone in this transition; from the entrepreneur to the scientist to the policymaker to the factory worker. So let’s get moving!
About
After undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, five years in the nonprofit sector, and completing the Master in Public Affairs program at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, I am now launching a career in energy and climate change policy. My focus is on oil scarcity and the necessary transition to an efficient use of renewables to strengthen our economy and lower carbon emissions simultaneously.
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