A new report from the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory concludes that America can achieve its goal of producing 20 percent of all electricity from wind power by 2030, and the Western U.S. has a crucial part to play in this plan.
According to a report in IEEE Spectrum magazine, which is published by the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology, the Energy Department’s goal would most likely require about 25 percent wind power in the western portion of the country. Not only is this achievable, but the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed that it is even doable to get 30 percent of power from wind along with 5 percent from solar, given a few practical changes to the system. Notably, though, there is little need for substantial new transmission line projects to get at least to a 20 percent penetration with wind.
Read more about DOE’s Western Wind and Solar Integration Study HERE.