US DOE Report Charts Path to 35% Wind Penetration by 2050

A new U.S Department of Energy report analysing the nation’s wind energy industry defines an ambitious but ‘plausible’ roadmap to securing 35% wind penetration by 2050.

The highly anticipated report, ‘Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States’, released earlier this month, builds on the promises of the Obama Climate Action Plan to become the leader in clean energy and energy efficiency, and charts the path to achieving a robust wind energy future.

The USA currently stands as a global leader in wind energy, powering 16 million homes and supporting 50,000 jobs, but the DOE believes that the industry has even more to offer. It argues that if this roadmap is followed, a target of 35% by 2050 is ‘plausible’ in terms of grid reliability and cost, as well as the industry’s ability to scale up.

With continued cost reductions via technology developments and further investment in energy systems, the report projects that wind power will be directly competitive with conventional energy technologies within the next decade. It outlines that wind power could supply the nation with 10% of its energy by 2020 and 20% by 2030.

By 2050, it predicts that wind power could displace more than 12.3 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and reduce cumulative electric spending expenditure by $149 billion, as well as support 600,000 jobs.

The substantial economic and social benefits of investing long-term in a renewable energy future are evident but the DOE warns these can only be gained through continuing policy support, technological advancements, cost reductions and siting and transmission development. Advancing wind’s position in the energy marketplace through implementing the report’s recommended nine-step action plan is needed to realise the benefits of a robust wind energy future.

With all 50 states set to utilise wind energy by 2050, the outlook is promising and, following the recentIslanded Grid Wind Power Conference in Alaska and installatiofn of turbines at New York State Thruway Authority, Vergnet are proud to support the achievement of this ambitious goal by continuing to deliver wind energy solutions within the USA.