Dive Brief:
- The recently released Wind Vision Report from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) predicts wind power can meet 10% of U.S. national electricity demand by 2020, 20% by 2030, and 35% by 2050.
- The report foresees wind as cost competitive without subsidies by 2030. Getting there will drive the average national cost of electricity up just under 1% through 2030 and then, over the next two decades, it will drive the national electricity price down 2% by 2050.
- In providing 35% of U.S. electricity by 2050, wind would also provide approximately 600,000 jobs, $1 billion in annual land lease payments, $440 million in annual lease payments for offshore wind plants, largely to state and federal landlords, and over $3 billion in annual property tax payments.
Dive Insight:
Wind currently meets 4.5% of U.S. electricity demand and provides 50,000 jobs.
The report’s roadmap plots the path to reduced wind costs, expanded developable areas, and increased value through nine key action areas: resource siting; plant technology; supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics; performance, reliability, and safety; electricity delivery and integration; permitting; collaboration, education, and outreach; workforce development; and policy.
“Many utilities already have found ways to integrate wind into their portfolios with innovations such as forecasting and coordinating with transmission expansions,” DOE Wind and Water Program Director Jose Zayas told Utility Dive. “This report shows more wind can be integrated effectively and reliably and should be central in utilities' resource planning.”
“The EPA Clean Power Plan was not considered in the Wind Vision because it is not yet part of U.S. policy,” Zayas added. “But wind is an incredibly powerful tool when you are looking at low carbon solutions and thinking about climate change variables like greenhouse gases and water savings.”
