DOE Announces New Wind Vision Initiative at AWEA WINDPOWER Conference

This is an excerpt from the Second Quarter 2013 edition of the Wind Program R&D Newsletter.

Chicago, Illinois—U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program Director Jose Zayas kicked off the development process for the program's new wind vision during his speech at the American Wind Energy Association's WINDPOWER Conference in Chicago in May. This initiative is intended to build on the 20% Wind by 2030 strategy report, published by DOE in 2008, which has been informative and impactful for the program's long-term planning and the wind industry as a whole. Zayas' speech was followed by a panel discussion of senior leaders from both the wind industry and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that highlighted the importance of developing a long-term wind vision for the United States.

In his speech, Zayas said that the reason for revitalizing the vision now is threefold. First, wind power has seen significant improvements in both costs and technologies. Second, the electricity market has experienced significant shifts since the 20% Wind by 2030 report was released, with continued low natural gas prices and lower overall electricity demand due to economic conditions. And third, the future of policies—such as the production tax credit—remains uncertain beyond 2013.

The goals of the new report are to document the current status of the wind industry; analyze the benefits and costs of wind power to the nation; provide a roadmap for industry, government, academia, and others; and provide vision and leadership for the U.S. wind power community. The project will look at the wind sector with projections out to 2020, 2030, and 2050, and will include land-based, offshore, and distributed wind markets. The wind vision project will engage national laboratories, industry, NGOs, academia, and other government stakeholders to develop a shared long-term wind vision.

For more information on the new Wind Vision initiative, visit A New Vision for U.S. Wind Power. The Wind Program needs your help in selecting a catchy name for the project. Leave your project name suggestions as well as any other comments or suggestions on the project's forum on Open Energy Information (OpenEI).