WASHINGTON — Two decades from now, Americans could get as much electricity from wind turbines as from nuclear power plants, says a government report that lays out a possible plan for wind-energy growth.
The report, a collaboration between Energy Department research labs and industry, concludes wind energy could generate 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030, about the same share now produced by nuclear reactors. Such growth would pose a number of major challenges but is achievable without the need for major new technological breakthroughs, said the report, released Monday.
“The report indicates that we can do this nationally for less than half a cent per kilowatt hour if we have the vision,” said Andrew Karsner, the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for efficiency and renewable energy.
“The United States possesses abundant wind resources,” said the report, spearheaded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden.
