According to a study released by the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, wind could produce 20% of the electricity required by households and businesses in the eastern U.S. by 2024, although this would require a $90 billion investment in the power grid. “We can bring more wind power online, but if we don’t have the proper infrastructure to move that power around, it’s like buying a hybrid car and leaving it in the garage,” said David Corbus, the project manager for the study. In order for the goal to be realized, the grid must be equipped with better power lines that can support the load during windy hours and carry the electricity to cities where demand is highest. The current grid cannot utilize all the wind power produced during windy periods, which wastes a vast amount of potential clean power.
For wind generation to comprise one-fifth of eastern electricity production, wind farms must be built on both land and in favorable offshore locations, and about 22,000 miles of new power lines must be installed. Wind power capacity must increase by ten times current levels to about 225,000 megawatts. Unfortunately, large offshore farms such as the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts have been delayed for years due to local opposition, even though the project could provide renewable energy to 400,000 households. The Interior Department will finally decide this spring whether to approve the wind project. Despite the project delays and the recession, U.S. wind electricity production increased 29 percent from January to October 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.
One way the federal government could help boost the wind power industry is by mandating a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS), requiring utilities to purchase a minimum amount of their energy from clean generation sources. Currently, several eastern states such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire have an RPS exceeding 20% by no later than 2025, but a national goal with a single target year would much better incentivize building additional wind farms and other renewable sources in the coming years, by sending proper price signals to contractors.
By increasing wind power generation and other renewable sources to these levels, carbon emissions are projected to decrease by an additional 4.5 percent by 2024. However, if no more wind farms are constructed, emissions will rise. Additionally, growth in wind power will diversify the national energy portfolio and create green jobs.
