Tag Archives: Wind Energy

Department of Energy report: 20% wind energy by 2030

From the U.S. Department of Energy website, posted 5/5/08, retrieved 1/5/09:

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a report that examines the technical feasibility of using wind energy to generate 20% of the nation’s electricity demand by 2030. The report, “20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply,” includes contributions from DOE and its national laboratories, the wind industry, electric utilities, and other groups. The report examines the costs, major impacts, and challenges associated with producing 20% wind energy or 300 GW of wind generating capacity by 2030.

The report’s conclusions include:

  1. Reaching 20% wind energy will require enhanced transmission infrastructure, streamlined siting and permitting regimes, improved reliability and operability of wind systems, and increased U.S. wind manufacturing capacity.
  2. Achieving 20% wind energy will require the number of turbine installations to increase from approximately 2000 per year in 2006 to almost 7000 per year in 2017.
  3. Integrating 20% wind energy into the grid can be done reliably for less than 0.5 cents per kWh.
  4. Achieving 20 percent wind energy is not limited by the availability of raw materials.

Read the complete report, “20% Wind Energy by 2030, Increasing Wind Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply” (PDF 9.1 MB).

Obama's environmental agenda clear with Cabinet picks

From the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday, December 16, 2008:

With the nomination of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu for energy secretary, President-elect Barack Obama made sure no one missed the message in the résumé.

“His appointment should send a signal to all that my administration will value science,” Obama said Monday at a Chicago news conference. “We will make decisions based on facts, and we understand that the facts demand bold action.”

Click here to read the whole article.

Wind spurs second land rush in Wyoming, other western states

From the New York Times, on Thursday, November 27, 2008:

A quiet land rush is under way among the buttes of southeastern Wyoming, and it is changing the local rancher culture. The whipping winds cursed by descendants of the original homesteaders now have real value for out-of-state developers who dream of wind farms or of selling the rights to bigger companies.

But as developers descend upon the area, drawing comparisons to the oil patch “land men” in the movie “There Will Be Blood,” the ranchers of Albany, Converse and Platte Counties are rewriting the old script.

Click here to read the whole article.

Obama energy and environment plan

From www.change.gov, retrieved on Thursday, November 20, 2008:

The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn’t just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment — it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.

Click here to read the whole page, and find links to other elements of the plan.

Wealth of Federal, State Energy Incentives Available to Homeowners

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant at CCHRC
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner November 20th, 2008, Section A3

Did you spend your $1,200 state energy assistance check on gas and groceries? Don’t despair! There is still money available to help make your home more energy efficient or take the leap to solar energy. And, from a tax perspective, you’re actually better off waiting until 2009 to make certain energy-related improvements. Continue reading →

Offshore wind power growing in US

From the New York Times on Wednesday, October 15, 2008:

While the race to develop offshore wind energy is heating up in the Northeast, things have hit a few speed bumps in the waters off Texas — already the nation’s leader in on-land wind power production.

Wind Energy Systems Technology (W.E.S.T.), a company that holds all five offshore wind leases in state waters in the Gulf of Mexico, is still looking for $311 million to build a 62-turbine farm nine miles off Galveston, in 50-foot depths.

It recently lost two potential investors — Lehman Brothers and Wachovia — which foundered in the recent financial turmoil. And the wind boom in the mesas of west Texas has so far served to reduce interest in offshore wind in the Gulf, according to Jerry Patterson, Texas’s land commissioner.

Offshore wind projects have not yet been developed in the United States, mainly because it is far more expensive than onshore wind.

Click here to read the whole article.

Renewable energy still stymied in Congress

From the New York Times on Tuesday, September 30, 2008:

… But while renewable energy has become a hot political buzzword, Congress has thus far failed to extend tax credits that wind, solar and other clean-energy companies say they need to stay in business.

As it stands, the tax credits currently in place expire at the end of this year.

The big-picture reason, says Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, is that renewable energy credits keep getting legislatively shackled to more controversial issues.

Click here to read the whole article.

Database of state incentives for renewable and energy efficiency

Established in 1995, the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

To find out what incentives your state utilities and/or government offers businesses and individuals who use renewable power or increase their energy efficiency, click here.

California adopts major long term energy plan

On September 18, 2008, the California Public Utilities Commission adopted the first Long Term Energy Efficiency Plan, which

… advances a solid framework that incorporates energy efficiency into the standard for operating in California—for utilities, businesses, and consumers.

It includes four “Big Bold strategies” strategies for significant energy-savings:

  • All new residential construction in California will be zero net energy by 2020;
  • All new commercial construction in California will be zero net energy by 2030;
  • The Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) industry will be reshaped to ensure optimal equipment performance; and
  • All eligible low-income homes will be energy-efficient by 2020
Click here to read the plan.

A greener home

The first of a two-part series, “A Greener Future”, from the LA Times, September 14, 2008:

Innovations in designing green chemicals are emerging in nearly every U.S. industry, from plastics and pesticides to toys and nail polish. Some manufacturers of cosmetics, household cleaners and other consumer products are leading the charge, while others are lagging behind.

For decades, many manufacturers used the most powerful weapons in their chemical arsenals, with scant attention to where they wound up or what they might have been doing to people or the planet.

Click here to read the whole article.