HartfordBusiness.com
Norm Bell
June 23, 2014
Wind power will play an increasing role in the U.S., likely supplying more than a third of the nation’s energy needs by 2050, according to a new analysis being readied by the federal Department of Energy, but Connecticut isn’t likely to be a major industry player.
The federal government’s timetable calls for doubling the existing 61 gigawatts of wind power by 2020, then doubling it again by 2030 and again by 2050 — growing wind’s share of the energy pie from 4.5 percent today to 35 percent.
Ambitious? Not at all, says the wind industry. Leaders of the American Wind Energy Association say those levels can be reached even faster if federal officials make the producer tax credit permanent and enact a comprehensive energy policy that gets serious about reducing carbon emissions.
But even in the rosiest scenario — 800 gigawatts of production in place by 2050 — don’t expect Connecticut to play a major role in generating wind power. DOE forecast maps show Connecticut’s involvement as a minimal factor, consigning the state to the bottom tier of states generating less than 500 megawatts as far out as 2050. For full article.