“20% of power supply by 2030.” What does it really mean? We all know it is an assertion made by the U.S. Department of Energy, but has it turned into a hyped up mantra? It has been over a year, yet where are we today? When the report came out, there was a lot of excitement at the possibilities:
- 20% Windpower by 2030
- Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program: 20% Wind Energy by 2030 …
- Blow Hard: Wind to Supply 20% of U.S. Power?
The original U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report’s conclusions include:
- Reaching 20% wind energy will require enhanced transmission infrastructure, streamlined siting and permitting regimes, improved reliability and operability of wind systems, and increased U.S. wind manufacturing capacity.
- Achieving 20% wind energy will require the number of turbine installations to increase from approximately 2000 per year in 2006 to almost 7000 per year in 2017.
- Integrating 20% wind energy into the grid can be done reliably for less than 0.5 cents per kWh.
- Achieving 20 percent wind energy is not limited by the availability of raw materials.
- Addressing transmission challenges such as siting and cost allocation of new transmission lines to access the Nation’s best wind resources will be required to achieve 20% wind energy.
Logically, if you want to achieve an 20% by 2030 goal, you should have a annual state of the union. How well are we moving to achieve this goal. Do we have consensus at the policy makers level to proceed with this goal? Fortunately the American Wind Energy Association is tracking this in their annual report. Tracking this report over the years would be interesting to see if we do have a chance of reaching 20% by 2030.