Wind power in the United States
The 2011 NREL report, "Large-Scale Offshore Wind Power in the United States", analyzes the current state of the offshore wind energy industry. According to the report, offshore wind resource development would help the country to achieve 20% of its electric power from wind by 2030 and to revitalize the manufacturing sector. Offshore wind could supply 54 gigawatts of capacity to the nation's electrical grid, thereby increasing energy security. It could also generate an estimated $200 billion in new economic activity and create thousands of permanent jobs. NREL’s report concludes that "the development of the nation’s offshore wind resources can provide many potential benefits, and that offshore wind energy could play a vital role in future U.S. energy markets".
Wind power
Nuclear power and fossil fuels are subsidized by many governments, and wind power and other forms of renewable energy are also often subsidized. For example, a 2009 study by the Environmental Law Institute assessed the size and structure of U.S. energy subsidies over the 2002–2008 period. The study estimated that subsidies to fossil-fuel based sources amounted to approximately $72 billion over this period and subsidies to renewable fuel sources totalled $29 billion. In the United States, the federal government has paid US$74 billion for energy subsidies to support R&D for nuclear power ($50 billion) and fossil fuels ($24 billion) from 1973 to 2003. During this same time frame, renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency received a total of US$26 billion. It has been suggested that a subsidy shift would help to level the playing field and support growing energy sectors, namely solar power, wind power, and biofuels. History shows that no energy sector was developed without subsidies.