The United States has used wind power for more than a century, and passed Germany in 2008 to become the world’s no. 1 in total wind power installation. “The potential for wind energy in the United States is formidable, and it’s the only emission-free energy source that’s ready to deliver right now,” says Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
The images from old western films, with vast dry landscapes, come to mind when Denise Bode describes the potential for wind energy in the United States. ‘Big sky’ states, such as Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming, are simply enormous and the wind that sweeps through them carries with it a solution to the growing energy problem.
"Right now the entire installed wind energy capacity in the US is about 26,000 MW (megawatts), and accounts for about 2% of the total energy production. The potential for wind energy in the state of Oklahoma alone is estimated to be about 82,000 MW. If we look at the entire mid-west and beyond, we are confident that wind can deliver more than 20% of the needed energy in the US," says Denise Bode, who actually started her career in the energy field in the state of Oklahoma.
To realise such a potential, someone dedicated to renewable energy must take charge and lead.
The Energy President
President Obama has made renewable energy one of his priorities since taking over the White House, and his policies have had a major impact already.
"It has been a watershed year for wind energy and renewable energy as a whole after the inauguration of President Obama. Renewable energy is one of the building blocks of his new economic policy. The stimulus package, which passed Congress faster than anything I have ever seen, contains multiple provisions to benefit the wind industry," says Mrs Bode.
During his long campaign, President Obama part preached to and part educated America about renewable energy. This teaching moment, as Mrs Bode calls it, has been one of many. Reaching USD 140 per barrel of crude oil was another. In June 2008, President Obama said: "A green, renewable energy economy isn’t some pie- in-the-sky, far-off future – it is now. It is creating jobs – now. It is providing cheap alternatives to USD 140-per-barrel oil – now. And it can create millions of additional jobs, an entire new industry, if we act – now."
Key policies
It is a fact that the key to the success or failure of wind energy lies with the policy makers in Washington, and the AWEA is working hard to move those policies. The AWEA states, in its New Wind Agenda, that what is needed to build the industry, especially in the face of the financial crisis, is concrete measures such as tax credits, a national renewable electricity standard (RES), a cap on carbon emissions and a national trading scheme, and not least legislation and initiatives to develop a high-voltage interstate transmission highway system for renewable energy. In addition to this, there is need for funding over the federal and state budgets. And these items are in fact included in President Obama’s stimulus package.
Denise Bode is by and large very positive to current developments; "2008 was a record shattering year for wind energy in the US. We increased the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50%, and the industry is a job-creating dynamo. Wind energy is now an important player in the US, and the stimulus package will boost the industry to further heights."
A look at the numbers for 2008 shows that wind energy even beat old fashioned coal energy plants in added capacity for the year. The added capacity for wind power was 8,300 MW, while for coal it was 1,000 MW. "Until they find a way to sequester carbon, they will not be building many coal plants," says Mrs Bode. "A wind energy plant, on the other hand, can be up running and producing electricity in just six months."
Please in my backyard
The large rural American landscape is not just an empty wilderness. What do the people there think of this new industry with its tall whirring steel constructions? A survey shows that they seem to like it very much, and only time will show how fickle those sentiments might be when a plant is actually sited in their own backyard.
"Between 83% to 90% of the people polled support wind energy. In the dry rural states, people connect wind energy with the wind mills that pumped up water and saved them from droughts, so it’s more like ‘please in my backyard’ in those states," says Mrs Bode.
Wind energy on the global scene
Wind energy is now an important player in the world’s energy markets, states the AWEA in a recent press release. The global wind market for turbine installations in 2008 was worth about EUR 36.5bn or USD 47.5bn. In Germany and Spain, 20% of the energy comes from wind. The United States is far behind with a little over 2%. But, with President Obama at the helm, they seem determined to catch up.
