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T.BOONE PICKENS WIND VISION CAN RAPIDLY BECOME A REALITY: AMERICAN WIND ENERGY ASSOCIATION

Key to generating 20% of U.S. electricity by 2030 is policy support, starting with immediate extension of federal production tax credit

The American Wind Energy Association today welcomed the campaign launched by T. Boone Pickens to strengthen U.S. economic and energy security by boosting wind power production and confirmed that ramping up wind power quickly on a large scale is feasible if the government enacts the correct policies, starting with renewal of the production tax credit.

“Wind power has become a key option for our country,” said AWEA Executive Director Randall Swisher. “Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy, in a major technical report, confirmed that wind can generate 20% of U.S. electricity supply by 2030 while providing benefits that far outweigh the cost. And today, one of the nation’s leading energy businessmen is stating that wind power is not only serious business, but perhaps the single most important strategic investment the nation can make today to strengthen our economy and energy security.

“In order to make this happen, however, the U.S. government will need to play its part and enact short- and long-term policies to transform many of our current practices,” added Swisher. “Of critical, and immediate importance, is an extension of the federal production tax credit, so that the industry can move ahead with planned investments and keep people at work. Of equal importance will be longer-term policies to plan for more transmission to bring large amounts of wind power from windy areas to population centers.”

According to the DOE technical report, achieving a 20% wind contribution to U.S. electricity supply by 2030 would:

• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25% in 2030;
• Reduce natural gas use by 11%, which would in turn lower the pressure on natural gas prices;
• Support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an average of more than 150,000 workers directly employed by the wind industry;
• Increase annual revenues to local communities to more than $1.5 billion by 2030; and
• Reduce water consumption associated with electricity generation by 4 trillion gallons by 2030.

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AWEA is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. 
The association’s membership includes global leaders in wind power development,
wind turbine manufacturing, and energy, as well as a broad range of component and service suppliers.  More information on wind energy is available at the
AWEA web site:  www.awea.org.  

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