Wind vs Other Renewable Energy Options
Overview — Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is produced using resources that are naturally replenished,
such as:
- wind
- sunlight
- geothermal heat/cooling
- rivers/tides
- biomass
- hydropower
Technologies
that produce energy from these renewable sources (other than
biomass) are often referred to as "clean" or "green" as
they produce few, if any, pollutants that negatively impact the
environment.
Biomass includes wood, wood waste, solid waste, landfill reclamation,
biogases (ethanol and bio diesel).
Comparatively, fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil are
exhaustible and release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide
or other pollutants into the atmosphere during energy production.
Market Growth in the US
As
a result of increased environmental awareness, the deployment of
renewable energy technologies has grown rapidly during the past
several years, with 26% of new U.S. power generation capacity in
2006 consisting of renewable technologies, compared with only 2%
in 2003. This increase is expected to continue, with the American
Council on Renewable Energy forecasting renewable energy capacity
to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 11% through 2025,
yielding a potential 550,000–700,000
MW of additional renewable capacity. At this rate, the United States
could supply 25% of its electrical energy requirements with renewable
energy by 2025.
Wind Energy Is the Fastest-Growing
Wind energy is the fastest-growing renewable energy generation
technology worldwide due to its:
- cost efficiency
- technological
maturity
- wide availability of wind resources.
The Others? Although
the United States has hydroelectric and geothermal resources,
many potential hydroelectric sites have already been developed
and geothermal production is confined by geographical limitations
to only certain areas of the United States.
In contrast, according
to the American Wind Energy Association, or AWEA, the available
untapped wind resources across the United States remain vast.
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