The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated 404 gigawatts of wind power capacity across the country by 2050, up from the current 89 GW, if electricity demand remained stable, this figure would satisfy a third of the energy needs of the entire country. But wind power is not booming everywhere, the reason could be this formula: P (power) = Cp*1/2*p*A*V3, where V is the wind speed, A is the area of ​​the rotor, p is the air density and Cp have a max. value of 0.59. This means that if wind speed doubled, power would increase by a factor of 8. So it makes sense that utility companies would prioritize building wind farms in places where the resource is most intensive. Figure 1As you can see in the map, the areas in red and purple, the Great Plains states have the highest wind speeds and the most energy available for harvesting. Texas alone, with 22.6 GW of installed capacity, would now rank sixth in the world in total wind capacity if it were its own country. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay With all the various incentives and government policies, in short, solar energy has won in the United States. Solar accounted for 55% of all electricity added in 2018, which is more than any other type of electricity added so far in 2018. Figure 2Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) report finds much of installed capacity comes from projects on a large scale, meaning this energy will be fed into the grid unlike rooftop solar energy. Nonresidential solar was the second largest growth area. This growth comes despite the 30% tariffs the Trump administration imposed on imported solar panels earlier this year. The increase in solar investment in the United States mirrors a broader global trend. In 2017, solar energy attracted $160. 8 billion in investments, according to data from the United Nations Environmental Programme, surpassing fossil and nuclear fuels. Hydroelectricity provides more energy than any other renewable source in the United States, at 7.5%. Unlike solar energy which has the greatest potential of all renewable energies, there are only a certain number of rivers to dam. The United States built a large number of dams along rivers in the 20th century, as a result hydroelectric capacity growth has plateaued since the early 1990s. With attention now turned to the growth of renewable energy, that growth has resumed. Hydropower appears promising because, unlike solar and wind power, it provides consistent, predictable generation that can serve as the backbone of a diversified energy mix. This type of baseload supply makes hydropower an important counterpoint to the variability of solar and wind. Hydroelectric for energy storage: As wind and solar energy continue to grow, the need for storage solutions is a key to their integration into the grid. Hydro plays an important role here, when the grid produces excess energy, it can be used to pump water from the lower basin to the upper one. When electricity needs to be produced, water flows from the upper basin to the lower basin, turning a turbine and generating electricity. In 2014, the United States had approximately 22 Gigawatts of pumped hydropower, which made up a staggering 97% of all utility-scale storage solutions. Geothermal energy is a natural reservoir of.