American Wind Energy Association:
Washington, D.C. March 5 — American wind power added significantly more new electricity than any other resource in 2014, according to U.S. Department of Energy data released late yesterday.
Wind power generated 4.4 percent of all the electricity in America in 2014 and maintained its position as the fifth largest electricity source in the U.S., according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA). Iowa led the nation by producing 28.5 percent of its electricity from wind power, followed by South Dakota at 25.3 percent and Kansas at 21.7. Wind energy provided more than 15 percent of electricity in a total of seven states, more than 10 percent in a total of nine states, and more than five percent in a total of 19 states.
All renewable energy sources including hydropower now deliver more than 13 percent of the nation’s electricity, with wind energy providing more than one-third of that total.
“The U.S. is blessed with an abundant supply of wind energy. Pairing this homegrown resource with continued technology innovation has made the U.S. the home of the most productive wind turbines in the world,” said Emily Williams, Deputy Director of Industry Data and Analysis for AWEA. Analysis released last year found the U.S. is number one in the world in wind energy production.
“Having more clean, affordable wind power than ever is helping to keep the lights on for U.S. homes and businesses,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). “We have an opportunity to have even more of the U.S. reliably powered by wind, resulting in more well-paying jobs, more benefits for consumers and cleaner air.”
Wind energy’s growth has been driven by technological improvements and cost declines that have reduced the cost of wind energy by more than half over the last five years, as documented by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
In 2014, wind provided enough electricity to power the equivalent of 16.7 million homes, or all the residential households in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, and Montana. Once recently added U.S. wind projects have had a full year of production, total wind output will likely rise to powering the equivalent of 18 million homes.
“All renewable energy sources including hydropower now deliver more than 13 percent of the nation’s electricity, with wind energy providing more than one-third of that total.”
That’s progress to be celebrated. At the same time, it needs to be put into perspective, because we are going to need to produce about 10 times more electricity than we do now once we stop burning hydrocarbons.
So, “All renewable energy sources including hydropower now deliver” about 1.3% of our true long-range goal, with wind energy providing less than one half of one percent of it.
That 0.43 % wind contribution needs to get to about 35%. So, take all the wind towers we have put up and then multiply times 81.0 . That’s what we actually need.
The common perspective is that we need get most of this new renewable energy system on-line within 20 years or else. Twenty years to build 81 times more wind towers, probably 100 times more solar PV panels, and then as many tidal machines to equal either of those figures. And we don’t have any of those tidal facilities built. There are only a few research tidal projects scattered across the whole globe. That tech is in its infancy – twenty years behind solar and wind.
We are not going to make it in time, folks.
Not unless we stop doing what we have been doing – waiting for a free-market approach to solve this problem – and instead use the power of the Federal government to build a new renewable-energy-only utility system. What else can accomplish all we need in the time frame we have?
“need to produce 10 times more electricity than we do now once we stop burning hydrocarbons”
No. More like 3-5x.
In 2004, US total energy consumption was 27,000 TWh of which electricity was 4,000 TWh.
In 2011, the numbers were 25,500 TWh & 4125 TWh so down 5% overall but total population was UP over 5%.
If we assume that over the next 20 yrs there are no improvements in efficiency, breakthroughs in materials, or changes in consumption & behavior, then we need a 6x increase in electricity production.
But we won’t be designing a new system based on a twenty year vision.