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Wind is here to stay as a mainstream power source in the United States, providing 4.4 percent of total electricity generation. As of 2014, there were more than 65,000 megawatts of utility-scale wind power deployed across 39 states -- enough to generate electricity for more than 16 million households. This upswing, thanks in part to Energy Department efforts to improve the performance and lower the costs of wind power technologies, has helped drop carbon dioxide emissions by more than 115 million metric tons in 2013 alone. According to the Energy Department’s Wind Vision report, it’s estimated that by 2050, wind energy can help offset 12.3 gigatonnes of greenhouse gases, equivalent to $400 billion in avoided carbon emissions at current global economic values.

Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Solar energy and the technologies that harness it are key to combatting climate change and lowering carbon pollution. Since 2009, the U.S. has increased solar electricity generation by more than twenty-fold thanks in part to Energy Department research and development that has helped lower the costs of solar technologies. In fact, between 2008 and 2014, the cost for a solar photovoltaic module dropped from $3.57 per watt to about $0.71 per watt.

Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Technologies that produce advanced biofuels from non-food biomass resources, including cellulosic biomass, algae (pictured), and wet waste which can help decrease the nation’s dependence on imported oil all while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Department supports critical research and development to produce these fuels more sustainably and affordably. Another way the Energy Department helps boost the supply of biofuels in the United States is by supporting the construction of 25 new biorefineries across the country.

Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

One important way to fight climate change is by separating carbon dioxide from the exhaust of power plants so it can be permanently stored. This process, called carbon capture, is a big focus for the Energy Department, which supports research and development to advance the next generation of carbon capture and sequestration technologies (shown). Last year, Energy Department projects captured and stored 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking two million cars off roads for an entire year.

Image: National Energy Technology Laboratory

Nuclear power produces abundant energy with essentially zero carbon emissions. In fact, nuclear power is our nation’s largest source of low-carbon electricity, supplying about 60 percent of non-greenhouse gas emitting power. Nuclear energy can also produce reliable electricity around the clock. This positions nuclear power as a key complement to renewables as we work to meet the dual challenges of rising global energy demand and mitigating global climate change.

Image: Energy Department

Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of the nation's man-made carbon dioxide emissions, 18 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions, and 55 percent of the sulfur dioxide emissions. Improving the efficiency of America’s homes and commercial buildings through Energy Department-supported innovations like high-tech windows (pictured), heating and cooling systems and lighting can play a big role in slashing these emissions. Building efficiency improvements will also help the nation achieve its goal of reducing energy-related greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020.

Image: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Transportation accounts for nearly 30 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions but that can be reduced through vehicle technologies like advanced combustion engines and plug-in electric vehicles (also known as EVs or electric cars). The Energy Department supports research and development to lower the cost of these environmentally friendly vehicle technologies that slash fuel consumption and carbon pollution. It’s estimated reducing fuel consumption by 50 percent in light duty vehicles would eliminate the use of more than 4 million barrels of oil a day and eliminate 6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions overall. EVs (pictured) can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 48 percent compared to a gasoline fueled car.

Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

The manufacturing industry consumes about 79 percent of total industrial energy use. The Energy Department is working to lower this through research and development of new technologies and processes like additive manufacturing -- also known as 3D-printing (pictured) -- that can help cut energy consumption of manufactured goods by 50 percent over 10 years.

Image: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Hydropower is nearly carbon free and the leading source of renewable energy, generating about six percent of all U.S. electricity. The Energy Department supports innovations to optimize hydropower production and leads the nation’s efforts to advance technologies that harness the power of oceans, waves and tides (pictured). With more than 50 percent of the population living within 50 miles of coastlines, these technologies have big potential in the fight against climate change. For example, extracting just five percent of the technical resource potential of oceans, waves and tides could power several million American homes with clean energy.

Image: Courtesy of Ocean Renewable Power Company

Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity and emit only water, which means this technology has big potential in the fight against climate change. Through research and development, the Energy Department is working to reduce the cost and improve the performance of systems like the ones used in fuel cell electric vehicles (pictured). An analysis by Oak Ridge National Laboratory indicates that by 2050, fuel cell electric vehicles could reach 20 to 70 percent of light duty vehicles in the U.S., reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 200 to 450 million metric tons per year.

Image: Energy Department

The Energy Department helps develop and deploy geothermal energy technologies that advance hydrothermal power production (pictured) -- where fluid flow and hot rock occur naturally -- and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technologies -- where fluid is injected into deep, hot rock formations to create a geothermal reservoir. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there’s 30 gigawatts of undiscovered hydrothermal resource capacity and more than 100 gigawatts of enhanced geothermal potential, equivalent to 10 percent of today's energy needs.

Image: Courtesy of Calpine Corporation