Innovation and green energy around the world

The United States is in a fast-moving race to clean energy independence.

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Wind power: California

Wind power accounts for 2 percent of U.S. electricity generation and is ahead of schedule to meet a target of 20 percent by 2030, according to the Washington-based American Wind Energy Association trade group. But the U.S. is still falling behind China when it comes to generating wind and solar power. In this photo, Vestas Wind Systems A/S’s 415-foot-tall wind turbines operate at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) 102-megawatt wind farm in Rio Vista, Calif. on March 10, 2010. The wind turbines, which are 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, have blades with a wingspan as long as the length of a football field.

Ken James / Bloomberg

Wind power: United States

Rick Needham, director of green business operations and strategy at Google Inc., speaks during a news conference about offshore wind farms on the Atlantic Seaboard with Bob Mitchell, chief executive officer of Trans-Elect Development Co., in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 12, 2010. Google agreed to invest in an underwater transmission network intended to harvest electricity from wind farms off the Mid-Atlantic coast and power 1.9 million homes from Virginia to New York and New Jersey.

Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg

Wind power: Denmark

The world’s largest offshore windmill farm, Middelgrunden Windmill Farm, seen here on Feb. 23, 2004, is located in the Oeresund, about 2 miles from Copenhagen harbor. Shipping, oil exploration and offshore wind farms have contributed to an increase in area noise by 20 decibels in the past 50 years with negative consequences for wildlife.

Bjarke Oersted / AFP/Getty Images

Wind power: Denmark

Finished wind turbine blades are stored ahead of shipping at the Siemens AG plant in Aalborg, Denmark, on Nov. 10, 2011.

Timothy Fadek / Bloomberg

Wind power: Denmark

An employee inspects a near-finished, painted wind turbine blade at the Siemens AG plant in Aalborg, Denmark, on Nov. 10, 2011. Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, forecast stagnant profit for next year as sales growth moderates and the global economy cools, sending the shares to their lowest levels in more than a month.

Timothy Fadek / Bloomberg

Wind power: Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel flies in a helicopter over a wind farm on the Baltic sea, near Zingst, Germany, on May 2, 2011. Merkel inaugrated the country's first commercial offshore wind farm in a step to promote a key technology in replacing nuclear power.

Guido Bergmann / AP

Solar Power: Canada

Solar panels stand at the Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant in Sarnia, Ontario, on Nov. 4, 2011. Sarnia Photovoltaic Power Plant, owned by Enbridge Inc., is the world's largest photovoltaic plant as of September 2010.

Brent Lewin / Bloomberg

Solar power: China

Yingli Green Energy staff members listen during a press briefing by China’s biggest solar energy companies in Beijing on Nov. 29, 2011. Yingli is among a group of Chinese companies, including giants Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Trina Solar Ltd., that rejected a U.S. trade complaint that claimed the companies are unfairly supported by the Chinese government and that possible sanctions would hurt American companies and workers. The group said that their commercial success comes from more advanced technology and efficient management.

Andy Wong / AP

Solar power: China

An employee assembles photovoltaic panels at Suntech Power Holdings Co.’s factory in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China, on Nov. 16, 2011. Suntech Power Holdings, the world's biggest maker of silicon-based solar panels, expects a revival in demand next year after subsidy reductions calmed markets and cut prices across Europe.

Qilai Shen / Bloomberg

Solar power: China

Employees assemble photovoltaic panels at Suntech Power Holdings Co.’s factory in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China, on Nov. 16, 2011.

Qilai Shen / Bloomberg

Solar power: China

The Suntech Power Holdings Co. headquarters stands in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China, on Nov. 16, 2011. China accounted for at least half of the world’s solar cell production in 2010.

Qilai Shen / Bloomberg

Wind power: China

A Chinese worker works on a wind turbine in the Goldwind Science and Technology on Aug. 19, 2010 in Urumqi, China. Xinjiang Goldwind is China’s largest wind turbine generator developer and manufacturer and a major global wind turbine supplier. Xinjiang is rich in wind resources with an annual theoretical wind energy reserve of three trillion kwh. China squeezed past America in November 2011 to become the top wind-power producer, with an installed capacity of 45 gigawatts, compared with the 44 gigawatts in the U.S.

Feng Li / Getty Images

Biofuels: Iowa

A handful of corn is shown before it is processed at the Tall Corn Ethanol plant, May 24, 2006, in a Coon Rapids, Iowa. Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol may help farmers' bottom lines and address climate-change concerns but eventually could lead to a sharp rise in food prices worldwide.

Charlie Neibergall / AP

Biofuels: Sierra Leone

A man stands among palm seedlings grown in the Socfin Agricultural Co.’s nursery in Malen chiefdom in Pujehun district in southern Sierra Leone on Oct. 27, 2011. The Sierra Leone plantation of Lichtenstein-based Socfin is one of many such projects in Africa, spurred by global demand for food and biofuel. But the practice is criticized by some as “land grabs.”

/ Reuters

Featured Photo Galleries

PARIS, FRANCE - MAY 29: Serena Williams of USA stretches to plays a forehand in her women's singles first round match between Serena Williams of USA and Virginie Razzano of France during day three of the French Open at Roland Garros on May 29, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

French Open results: Serena Williams loses, Maria Sharapova cruises

The American tennis star lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event.

Winnie Pajcic, 9, holds on to a railing as she leans back in the wind during a visit to Stockton Park in Ortega, Fla., in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Beryl on Monday May 28, 2012. Beryl came ashore early Monday near Jacksonville Beach with near-hurricane-strength winds of 70 mph. (AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Kelly Jordan)

Tropical storm Beryl, Flugtag, Rolling Thunder, Memorial Day and more in the day in photos

Tropical storm Beryl, Flugtag, Rolling Thunder, Memorial Day and more.

Camels rest at a watering hole outside the town of Aleg May 25, 2012. REUTERS/Joe Penney (MAURITANIA - Tags: ANIMALS SOCIETY)

Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more in animal views

Camels, tigers, turtles, a giant stag beetle and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD- MAY 29: Graduates cheer as the Blue Angels fly over during the 100th anniversary of the United States Naval Academy Graduation and Commissioning Ceremonies in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 29, 2012. U.S Sec. of Defense Leon Edward Panetta gave the graduation address. (Photo by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post)

U.S. Naval Academy graduation

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave the commencement address at the ceremony.

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 26: Singer/actress Jennifer Lopez (C) performs with dancers during the Q'Viva! The Chosen Live show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 26, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Eye on entertainment

Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Lil Jon, Eddie Van Halen, Mariah Carey and other celebrities.

Doc Watson, bluegrass and folk legend, dies at 89

The blind singer and guitarist was a Grammy winner, known for his flat-picking style of guitar playing.

Henry, a calf, sustained a head wound and required stitches after being slashed over the weekend.

Farm animals attacked in Fairfax

A calf, two goats and a chicken were slashed over the weekend at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon.

COVINGTON, LA - MAY 14: Brother Emmanuel Labrise of St. Joseph's Abbey prepares a casket for lining on May 15, 2012 in Covington, Louisiana. Louisiana law forbids those who are not licensed funeral directors from selling caskets. And since Hurricane Katrina leveled the timberlands that once provided the main source of funding for the abbey, the monks have attempted to make a living by building and selling simple cypress caskets. The monks won their first round last year, and have a hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in June. (Photo by Sean Gardner/For the Washington Post)

Louisiana monks fight for the right to sell coffins

Federal court case pits a group of monks against the funeral home industry.

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