Wind Powering America (WPA) is an initiative of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) that seeks to increase the use of wind energy throughout the United States. WPA collaborates with key state and regional stakeholders, including farmers, ranchers, Native Americans, rural electric cooperatives, consumer-owned utilities, and schools to break down barriers associated with wind energy development.
Throughout its history, WPA has focused on states with strong potential for wind energy generation but with few operational projects. WPA provides fair and unbiased information about the challenges, benefits, and impacts of wind technology implementation. This information allows policymakers, organizations, and citizens to make educated and informed decisions about wind energy implementation in their communities.
History
Formed in 1999 by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), WPA’s original goals were to: Meet 5% of the nation's energy needs with wind energy by 2020 (i.e., 80,000 megawatts [MW] installed); Double the number of states with more than 20 MW of wind capacity to 16 by 2005 and triple that number to 24 by 2010; Increase wind's contribution to federal electricity use to 5% by 2010.
Conceived as a national public-private partnership, WPA’s methodology was to work with organizations, typically state-based Wind Working Groups, and other stakeholders to provide information and direct technical assistance to support the responsible implementation of wind technologies.
This model assumed that supporting the development of an initial 20 MW of wind power capacity in a state would allow project developers and communities to work through permitting and implementation issues, providing an example for similar projects. Over time it was determined that implementing only 20 MW of wind was not sufficient to provide such examples in each state, and that 100 MW of installed capacity more accurately provided clear examples of how these projects could be successfully implemented. As increasing amounts of wind capacity were installed, new challenges, including general public acceptance, transmission constraints, and grid stability emerged, so WPA added a new threshold: 1,000 MW of wind power capacity installed in a state.
Mission
Throughout its history, WPA has focused on states with strong potential for wind energy generation but with few operational projects. WPA provides fair and unbiased information about the challenges, benefits, and impacts of wind technology implementation. This information allows policymakers, organizations, and citizens to make educated and informed decisions about wind energy implementation in their communities.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, 14 states have more than 1,000 MW of wind energy installed capacity and 30 states have more than 20 MW installed. At the end of 2009, wind energy technology supplied about 2.5% of the nation’s energy.
Initiative focus areas
WPA encourages further wind energy growth by working with national, regional, and state partners in communicating the benefits of wind energy to communities and industry stakeholders. WPA now works to achieve DOE’s 20% wind energy by 2030 scenario by focusing on the following areas for large land-based and offshore wind technologies, community-scale wind projects, and small and distributed wind applications:
State Wind Working Groups
In 2000, WPA helped establish the program’s first official Wind Working Group in North Dakota. Group members include landowners and agricultural sector representatives, utilities and regulators, colleges and universities, advocacy groups, and state and local officials. WPA supports Wind Working Groups by providing group members with information on the current state of wind technology, wind resources, economic development impacts, and policy options. There are 34 Wind Working Groups in the United States.
Regional activities
In 2005, WPA helped launch the New England Wind Forum to provide a Web-based, comprehensive source for up-to-date information on a wide range of wind energy development issues in the northeastern United States. The New England Wind Forum and the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative are pilots for developing expanded regionally based information support for other areas of the country.