2 May 2007Steve Hargreaves
Renewable energy could have the capacity to supply up to half the nation's current electricity demand and 40 percent of its transportation fuel demand by 2025, proponents said Tuesday.
In generating electricity, wind energy could play the biggest part, having the capacity to supply nearly 40 percent of the renewable power, according to a report from the American Council On Renewable Energy.
Wind is followed by solar at 26 percent, Geothermal at 16 percent, biomass at 16 percent, and water - including hydro dams, tidal and wave power - at 3.6 percent.
"We still have elected officials who believe renewable energy cannot power this country, and I think that is incorrect," ACORE president Michael Eckhart said on a conference call. "We can deliver huge amounts of energy in an environmentally sustainable way."
It should be noted that capacity is not the same as power produced, as some technologies - like wind and solar - don't produce power all the time.
ACORE's projections differ sharply with those of the U.S. government and most major oil companies, who say renewables will continue to account for between 5 to 10 percent of the country's energy use by 2030.
Eckhart noted the government's forecasts are made considering only current policies and laws, and highlighting what could be done with laws and policies that encouraged renewable energy use was the whole point of his group's study.
"Renewable energy doesn't amount to much unless you change policy," he said.
Eckhart steered clear of endorsing specific policies or candidates, but said government laws and incentives for green power should be long-term in scope to give the industry and investors the stability it needs to grow.
He also called for a 10-fold increase in research and development money from the government, and should total at least $3 or $4 billion a year.
