关键词：新能源；风力发电；电能；水电技术
摘 要：In 2008, wind energy enjoyed another record-breaking year of industry growth. By installing 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generation during the year, the U.S. wind energy industry took the lead in global installed wind energy capacity with a total of 25,170 MW. According to initial estimates, the new wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 40of all new U.S. power-producing capacity added last year. The wind energy industrys rapid expansion in 2008 demonstrates the potential for wind energy to play a major role in supplying our nation with clean, inexhaustible, domestically produced energy while bolstering our nations economy. To explore the possibilities of increasing winds role in our national energy mix, government and industry representatives formed a collaborative to evaluate a scenario in which wind energy supplies 20of U.S. electricity by 2030. In July 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published the results of that evaluation in a report entitled 20Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energys Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply. According to the report, the United States has more than 8,000 gigawatts (GW ) of available land-based wind resources that could be captured economically. In the early release of its Annual Energy Outlook 2009, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that U.S. electricity consumption will grow from 3,903 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2007 to 4,902 billion kWh in 2030, increasing at an average annual rate of 1. To meet 20of that demand, U.S. wind power capacity would have to reach more than 300 GW (300,000 MW). This growth represents an increase of more than 275 GW within 21 years. Although achieving 20wind energy will have significant economic, environmental, and energy security benefits, to make it happen the industry must overcome significant challenges.