simple + green

image credit: 4×4jeepchick

According to some US government officials, wind power will be the main weapon in the fight against global warming. And they have a plan.

Sort of.

The US Energy Department says windmills could supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by 2030 and put a huge dent in greenhouse gas emissions.

Windmills spinning over the Great Plains and along the coasts could supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity by the year 2030 and put a significant dent in greenhouse gas emissions, federal officials said Monday.

Although wind farms now generate just 1 percent of the nation’s electricity, a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy found that wind power could play a far larger role in the future. It could supply roughly the same percentage of the nation’s power as nuclear plants provide today.

The main point from all of this is the word ‘could, as this is not a prediction. There doesn’t seem to be an actual plan to roll this out.

Not yet.

But for some of us, wind power is already in the mix.

Consider:
1. California is already a significant source of wind power.
2. In 2006, 1.8% of the state’s electricity was generated by wind power. That number should continue to grow.

But also consider that a heat wave, caused by fading summer winds off of the Pacific, stops wind power generation.

Allegedly, this could be mitigated by power sharing between windmill farms in different regions.

The main way to accomplish an integrated wind power solution, according to the article, is to create windmill farms throughout the Great Plains portion of the country.

To collect and distribute to different parts of the country equals an infrastructure. And that would be significantly expensive.

Once the US Government steps in, we can hope that the outcome is a broad system of windmills, generating and sharing energy. This is definitely a story to watch.

So: will Obama, Hillary or McCain talk this up as they stump for the office of President?

(read the full report here)