OneWorld.net (U.S.)

OneWorld.net's take: Wind power has the potential to produce 12 percent of the world's energy needs within 12 years, says a new report from an environmental protection agency, adding that the carbon emissions-free source is key to avoiding the worst consequences of climate change.

• Emissions-free wind turbines harnessing energy. © Auntie K (Flickr)Other alternative, clean energy sources are gaining ground. The "explosive" growth in the United States of solar and geothermal energy, in addition to wind, means increased energy security, stabilized energy prices, and thousands of new jobs, writes environmental expert Lester Brown, president of the Earth Policy Institute.

• South Dakota's Rosebud Sioux are among the many Native American tribes harnessing wind energy to help ensure their community's economic self-sufficiency, according to an article from the indigenous rights group Cultural Survival. Wind power projects are not the only environmentally friendly initiatives gaining popularity in the United States. Members of the Lakota tribe in South Dakota are turning to natural materials, such as straw for insulation, and solar energy to build more economical and environmentally friendly homes, reports OneWorld.net. Advocates also hope the initiative will help solve the community's housing crisis.
  
  

New Study: 10 billion tonne saving in CO2 possible with wind energy by 2020

Wind power is key technology to prevent dangerous climate change

From: Greenpeace International

October 30, 2008

Beijing, International - Wind power could produce 12 percent of the world's energy needs and save 10 billion tones of CO2 within 12 years, according to a new report published today.

The 'Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008', published by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and Greenpeace International, looks at the global potential of wind power up to 2050 and found that it could play a key part in achieving a decline in emissions by 2020, which the IPCC indicates is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. By 2020, wind power could save as much as 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 every year, which would add up to over 10 billion tonnes in this timeframe. The report also explains how wind energy can provide up to 30 percent of the world's electricity by the middle of the century.

"We only have a few years to achieve a decline in global CO2 emissions and wind power is going to have to play a major part in that. No other technology can come close to delivering the required new power generation capacity without emissions in that time frame," said GWEC Secretary General Steve Sawyer. "It is the only reliable emissions-free energy technology ready for massive deployment now, but governments have to act decisively to make this happen."

The report was launched at the Global Wind Power conference in Beijing. China has the world's fastest growing wind power market and is expected to become the biggest manufacturer of wind energy equipment by the end of 2009.

The report explores three different scenarios for wind power - a Reference Scenario based on figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA); a Moderate version that assumes that current targets for renewable energy are successful; and an Advanced Scenario that assumes that all policy options in favour of renewables have been adopted. These are then set against two demand projections for global energy demand.

Wind energy has already become a mainstream power generation source in many regions around the world, and it is being deployed in over 70 countries. In addition to environmental benefits, wind energy also provides a sustainable answer to increasing concerns about security of energy supply and volatile fossil fuel prices. Moreover, wind energy is becoming a substantial factor in economic development, providing more than 350,000 'green collar' jobs today both in direct and indirect employment. By 2020, this figure is projected to increase to over 2 million.

The existing power sector emits around 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions and there are only three options to substantially reduce these emissions between now and 2020: energy efficiency, fuel switching, and renewables, predominantly wind power.

Greenpeace expects wind power to play a leading role in a fossil fuel free electricity system of the future. Without wind power, we won't be able to cut global emissions by the necessary levels," said Sven Teske, Greenpeace International's Senior Energy Expert. "This report is based on Greenpeace's new Energy [R]evolution scenarios, which show that wind power can make a real difference between now and 2020. We urge governments to support wind power with a robust climate agreement, the necessary electricity market reforms and by cutting down subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear energy."

"This report demonstrates that wind technology is not a dream for the future - it is working now, and it can be deployed on a large scale very rapidly," said Arthouros Zervos, GWEC's Chairman. "The political choices of the coming years will determine the world's environmental and economic situation for many decades to come. The wind industry stands ready to do its part in what the UN Secretary General has described as 'the defining struggle of the 21st century'. With sufficient political will and the right frameworks, it could do even more."

A coalition of wind companies, associations and NGOs will launch a campaign at the climate meeting in Poznan in December, to increase government action on wind energy. Entitled 'Wind Power Works', the campaign will run for a year until the COP 15 climate talks in Copenhagen, December 2009.

Notes to Editor

Copies of ‘Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008' can be downloaded at www.gwec.net

An annex showing the graphs and figures for the ‘Global Wind Energy Outlook 2008' report is also available for download

Copies of the ‘Energy [R]evolution: A sustainable World Energy Outlook' report can be downloaded at: www.greenpeace.org/energyrevolution and www.erec.org.

For other regional reports please go to www.energyblueprint.info

For more information about wind and other clean energy sources, visit Greenpeace International.