NREL study shows renewable energy potential in every state

By: Steve Monday July 30, 2012 0 comments Tags: Anthony Lopez, Colorado, Donna Heimiller, Golden, NREL, renewable energy

GOLDEN - A new study of renewable energy's technical potential finds that every state in the U.S. has the space and resources to generate clean energy.

The study, "U.S. RE Technical Potential," was produced by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden and looks at available resources in all 50 states.

NREL said the report is valuable for decision-makers and utility executives because it compares estimates across six renewable energy technologies and unifies assumptions and methods.

It shows the achievable energy generation of a particular technology given resource availability--such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc. - system performance, topographic limitations and environmental and land-use constraints.

The study also includes state-level maps and tables containing available land area, installed capacity and electric generation for each technology.

"Decision-makers using the study will get a sense of scale regarding the potential for renewables, and which technologies are worth examining," said Anthony Lopez, co-author of the study.

"This is intended to be a living document," added NREL's Donna Heimiller, study co-author. "We'll be frequently updating the information as we get more data."

For more information, visit http://www.nrel.gov/gis/re_potential.html.