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The U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030.

(NAPSA)-Experts say there is a renewable source of energy that is capable of becoming a major contributor to America's electricity supply over the next three decades-wind power.

In 2007, wind was already one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity in U.S. households, and the U.S. Department of Energy contends that wind power can provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030 and be a critical part of the solution to global warming. Some say achieving a 20 percent wind contribution to U.S. electricity supply would:
•    Reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25 percent by 2030;
•    Reduce natural gas use by 11 percent;
•    Reduce water consumption associated with electricity generation by 4 trillion gallons by 2030.

It's also estimated that a 20 percent wind contribution could increase annual revenues to local communities to more than $1.5 billion by 2030 and support roughly 500,000 jobs in the U.S., with an average of more than 150,000 workers directly employed by the wind industry.

New technology will be required to achieve these goals, such as the new hydrodynamic drive system, WinDrive, from a company called Voith. This system is designed to make energy generation with wind power more effective, because the wind rotor is always operated at optimum speed. That translates to a constant output of energy.

The technology is already breaking records in extreme environments. For instance, it is the highest installed wind turbine in the world, operating at 2.61 miles above sea level.

The wind turbine delivers the power supply to the Veladero gold mine owned by the Barrick company in the Andes mountains of Argentina.

American students are also on track to benefit from the technology. The Texas State Technical College in West Texas, in a joint venture with the city of Sweetwater, has purchased a DeWind D 8.2 wind turbine featuring the Voith WinDrive. The wind turbine is installed in Highland, Texas, just a few miles from the campus in Sweetwater. It's planned that students will have access to technology as part of their course of studies in the school's wind energy program.
To learn more, visit www.voithturbo.com .