It has the urgency of an environmentalist's push for alternate energy sources. It promotes the belief that greenhouse gases can be cut by switching to a benign technology. Yet Monday's "first-of-its-kind" report by the U.S. Department of Energy comes from a Bush administration dominated by two ex-oilmen.

Maybe wind power's time has come.

The report -- produced by DOE and three of its national laboratories, with input from members of the industry -- declared that the United States could see 20 percent of its total electricity produced by wind power by 2030. That would be an astounding shift, given harnessed wind's generation of only 1 percent now.

If the nation were fortunate to have a wind power industry of such size in two decades, it would equal the energy output of today's nuclear power plants. More importantly, it could lead to a consumption declines in coal of 18 percent and natural gas of 11 percent. That could translate into a cut in carbon dioxide emissions linked to global warming of 825 million metric tons.

Although the wind power industry has been growing 30 percent annually in the last five years, the Energy Department warns that the 20 percent electrical supply threshold will not be reached automatically. It would require concerted steps like a jump in annual turbine installations from 2,000 in 2006 to 7,000 in 2017, an enhanced electrical transmission structure and streamlined permitting policies.

Left unsaid by the report is that such steps will become the focus of debates over aesthetics, environmental impact and animal protection. While these are legitimate subjects, the prospect of renewable, sustainable wind power -- which essentially requires no fuel and generates no pollution -- is too good to dismiss casually. Americans must be receptive to the new technology.

Now that even Bush types want to grow wind's share of the power pie, maybe it will get the support it needs to finally come on strong.