U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program

20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply

Here you will find the description of the "20% Wind Energy by 2030" report, which was recently published by the U.S. Department of Energy, and related materials and workshops.

Cover of the report, ‘20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply.' Shows a close-up of a wind turbine spinning in the wind, in a wide, open field. Other turbines can be seen in the distance.

Overview

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a report that examines the technical feasibility of using wind energy to generate 20% of the nation's electricity demand by 2030. The report, "20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply," includes contributions from DOE and its national laboratories, the wind industry, electric utilities, and other groups. The report examines the costs, major impacts, and challenges associated with producing 20% wind energy or 300 GW of wind generating capacity by 2030.

The report's conclusions include:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Integrating 20% wind energy into the grid can be done reliably for less than 0.5 cents per kWh.
  4. Achieving 20 percent wind energy is not limited by the availability of raw materials.
  5. 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.

Read the complete report, "20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply" (PDF 9.1 MB).

Reports

Here you can find the "20% Wind Energy by 2030" and its supporting documents. Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

  • "20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply" (PDF 9.1 MB).
  • Executive Summary: "20% Wind Energy by 2030" Report (PDF 2.8 MB)

Chapter Summary Presentations

These presentations summarize the main chapters in the "20% Wind Energy by 2030" report.

  • Chapter 1: Executive Summary and Overview (PDF 1.6 MB)
  • Chapter 2: Wind Turbine Technology (PDF 1.3 MB)
  • Chapter 3: Manufacturing, Materials, and Resources (PDF 826 KB)
  • Chapter 4: Transmission and Integration into the U.S. Electric System (PDF 1.8 MB)
  • Chapter 5: Wind Power Siting and Environmental Effects (PDF 1.6 MB)
  • Chapter 6: Wind Power Markets (PDF 257 KB)

Workshops

These workshops support the vision put forth in the "20% Wind Energy by 2030" report.

More Information