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Global potential for wind-generated electricity

by Leighton Walter Kille, The Journalist's Resource
December 22, 2011

<h1>Global potential for wind-generated electricity</h1> <p class="byline">by Leighton Walter Kille, The Journalist's Resource <br />December 22, 2011</p> <p>By 2030 electric usage in the United States is projected to grow by more than 30%. Fossil fuels and nuclear power currently produce the lion’s share of our electricity, but in a carbon-constrained world, renewables will have a greater role to play.</p> <p>A 2009 study by Harvard University and Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre, <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/06/19/0904101106.abstract">"Global Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity,"</a> indicates that considerable potential exists for the growth of wind power. Researchers used data from NASA and built their analysis on conservative assumptions.</p> <p>The study's key findings include:</p> <ul> <li>Wind could supply more than 40 times current worldwide consumption of electricity, and more than five times total global use of energy in all forms.</li> <li>In the contiguous United States, wind has the potential to supply as much as 16 times total current domestic electrical demand.</li> <li>When required, new power transmission lines add appropriately 10% to a project's cost, and consequently are not prohibitive.</li> <li>Wind-energy potential falls below demand only during the summer months, when winds decrease and electrical use rises.</li> </ul> <p><em>Keywords: carbon, global warming, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, infrastructure</em></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://journalistsresource.org/environment/potential-of-wind-power/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://journalistsresource.org&quot;&gt;The Journalist&#039;s Resource&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.&lt;img src=&quot;https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> Copy to Clipboard

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By 2030 electric usage in the United States is projected to grow by more than 30%. Fossil fuels and nuclear power currently produce the lion’s share of our electricity, but in a carbon-constrained world, renewables will have a greater role to play.

A 2009 study by Harvard University and Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre, “Global Potential for Wind-Generated Electricity,” indicates that considerable potential exists for the growth of wind power. Researchers used data from NASA and built their analysis on conservative assumptions.

The study’s key findings include:

• Wind could supply more than 40 times current worldwide consumption of electricity, and more than five times total global use of energy in all forms.
• In the contiguous United States, wind has the potential to supply as much as 16 times total current domestic electrical demand.
• When required, new power transmission lines add appropriately 10% to a project’s cost, and consequently are not prohibitive.
• Wind-energy potential falls below demand only during the summer months, when winds decrease and electrical use rises.

Keywords: carbon, global warming, greenhouse gases, renewable energy, infrastructure