|
Publication Number: P500-01-018
Abstract:
With rising fossil fuel and natural gas prices, energy shortage concerns as well as environmental impact concerns, the generation of electrical energy using "free", non-polluting wind energy has steadily regained worldwide momentum. Trends through out the 1990s have shown wind energy to be the fastest growing, most readily financed and implemented renewable energy technology with worldwide operating installed capacity nearing 8,000 Megawatts (MW) in 1998 and exceeding 12,000 MW at the end of 1999. 1 With some 3,900 MW of new wind capacity installed worldwide in 1999 alone 2, wind isproving to be valuable resource for affordable and reliable electricity generation. The goal to boost wind energy to 25 percent of California electricity by 2020 can be achieved by extending the federal tax credit (PTC) to December 31, 2001. Along with numerous State sponsored renewable energy initiatives, including the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, and the Administration's "Wind Powering America" program. In the United States (U.S.),federal and statewide support has helped to increase the market for wind generated electricity.
Author(s): Dora Yen, Juan Guzman, Awad Nasim Commission Division: Technology Systems Division - R&D, PIER (500)
Office/Program: PIER: Public Interest Energy Research
PIER Program Area: Renewable Energy Technologies
Date Report Completed: 2001
Date On Line:
03/25/2001
Acrobat PDF File Size: pages,
kilobytes
| 
