Renewable Energy Grabs Headlines But Fossil Fuel Still Dominates

摘要

Top contractors in the U.S. will continue to be busy over the next few years building conventional powerplants fired by natural gas and coal. But now it appears likely they also will be laying the groundwork for nuclear plants as well. An increasing number of contractors, anticipating a shift to greener sources of electricity, are branching out into renewable energy projects, including wind farms, biomass-fired plants and solar projects. While it may be several years before renewables provide a substantial share of the nation's electricity needs, few doubt that day is coming. Between 2005 and 2007, wind ranked second to natural gas in the amount of new capacity added in the U.S and the same is likely in 2008, says the American Wind Energy Association. Last year, wind-farm developers and utilities added 5,249 MW of wind capacity, bringing the nation's total to more than 18,000 MW. About 5,700 MW of wind capacity is currently under construction, according to AWEA.