US could get 20% of its electricity from wind power by 2030, DOE says

摘要

The Bush administration set forth a roadmap last week for the US to generate 20% of its electricity from wind resources by 2030, just months after the administration vowed to veto an energy bill if it required states to generate 20% of their electricity from wind and other renewable sources. In a report issued Monday, the Energy Department said US electricity demand is expected to grow 39% from 2005 to 2030, reaching 5.8 billion MWh by 2030. It is possible to meet 20% of that demand through wind resources, the DOE report said, but only if the country can overcome several hurdles, not the least of which is building new transmission to transport all this wind power to load centers. Much of the wind power today is found in the Midwest part of the country. Much of the electricity demand, however, is in urban areas, especially the eastern seaboard. The report said the country must build new transmission for more power in urban areas, develop better regional planning, decrease wind capital costs, improve the turbine technology and deal with local siting and environmental issues. The report estimates that total capital cost to meet the 20% wind scenario would be nearly $197 billion. But electric utilities would save at least $155 billion by not having to purchase as much coal and natural gas for conventional power plants, which would bring the net cost of the 20% wind-power scenario to about $43 billizon, the report said.