Wind Energy and Economic Development in Nebraska

摘要

Wind power is one of the fastest-growing sources of new electricity generation in the country. It constituted more than 35% of new U.S. electric generating capacity in 2007. In 2008, the United States became the world leader in energy generated from wind power. At the national level, common wind power drivers include Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), the federal production tax credit (PTC), and economic development impacts. A recent report by the U.S. Department of Energy concludes that it is feasible for the United States to derive as much as 20% of its electricity from wind power by 2030 (http://20percentwind.org/). This groundbreaking analysis details how the country could achieve this ambitious goal and shows where wind energy is expected to be deployed based on demand for electricity, the distribution of wind resources across the country, and the cost and availability of transmission. Under this national 20% wind scenario, 7,800 megawatts (MW) of new wind power is added in Nebraska.