The White House declared a “new era of wind power” yesterday, releasing a new report that foresees wind supplying 35% of the country’s electricity by 2050.
“Wind energy continues to be one of America’s best choices for low-cost, zero-pollution renewable energy, and in an increasing number of markets, may be the cheapest source of new energy available,” the Wind Vision report states.
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“The growth of the industry has really exceeded people’s expectations,” said José Zayas, the director of the Department of Energy’s Wind and Water Power Technologies Office.
Since the George W. Bush Administration committed to a 20% target for wind generation by 2030, “improved technology has made wind power more reliable and cheaper, helping spread it at a faster pace across the nation,” USAToday reports, citing Obama Administration officials. “The improvements enabled them to make more precise projections in the 2015 report compared with 2008.”
Wind Vision indicated the U.S. industry operates in 39 states, supplies enough energy to power 16 million homes, supports more than 50,000 jobs, and has attracted $100 billion in private investment since 2008. It projects that wind costs will fall 37% by mid-century.
