Wind Power in The United States

Wind power in the United States is a branch of the energy industry, expanding quickly over the last several years. Construction of new wind power generation capacity in the fourth quarter of 2012 totaled 8,380 megawatts (MW) bringing the cumulative installed capacity to 60,007 MW. This capacity is exceeded only by China. For the 12 months until March 2013, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to 145.279 terawatt-hours, or 3.56% of all generated electrical energy.

New wind farms can produce electricity in the 5-8 cents per kWh range, making wind power more competitive with the cost of fossil fuel electricity generation. Fifteen states have installed over 1,000 MW of wind capacity, and a total of 39 states now have installed at least some utility-scale wind power, with Nevada the latest in the 3Q of 2012. Texas, with 12,212 MW of capacity, has the most installed wind power capacity of any U.S. state, followed by California and Iowa with 5,549 MW and 5,137 MW respectively. The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the largest wind farm in the United States with a capacity of 1020 MW of power.

GE Energy is the largest domestic wind turbine manufacturer. In 2010, the wind power industry in the US received 13.4% ($4.986 billion) of all federal subsidies for electricity generation including 4.852 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

There were 10,312 MW across 30 states under construction in the second quarter of 2012 and 8,430 MW across 30 states and territories under construction in the third quarter of 2012, with less than 100 MW of new construction. The U.S. Department of Energy’s report 20% Wind Energy by 2030 envisioned that wind power could supply 20% of all U.S. electricity, which included a contribution of 4% from offshore wind power. In August 2011, a coalition of 24 governors asked the Obama administration to provide a more favorable business climate for the development of wind power. Near the end of 2012, the United States fiscal cliff undermined the wind industry because of an expiring 2.2₡/kWh tax credit. On January 1, 2013 the production tax credit was extended for another year.