The Roscoe Wind Farm (780 MW) inTexas is the world's largest wind farm.[3 Texas, with 8,797 MW of capacity, has the most wind power capacity of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,053 MW.[2] Over 8,500 MW of new wind power capacity was brought online in 2008, increasing the nation's cumulative total by 50%. These new installations place the U.S. on a trajectory to generate 20% of the nation's electricity by 2030 from wind energy, as long as there is continued government policy support for the industry.[2] Growth in 2008 channeled some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the country, along with natural gas. New wind projects completed in 2008 account for about 42% of the entire new power-producing capacity added in the U.S. during the year.[2]

At the end of 2008, about 85,000 people were employed in the U.S. wind industry,[4] and GE Energy was the largest domestic wind turbine manufacturer.[1] Wind projects boosted local tax bases, and revitalized the economy of rural communities by providing a steady income stream to farmers with wind turbines on their land.[1] Wind power in the U.S. provides enough electricity to power the equivalent of nearly 9 million homes, avoiding the emissions of 57 million tons of carbon each year and reducing expected carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2.5%.[2

The world's top wind producer

Map of available wind power over the United States. Color codes indicate wind power density class.

At the end of 2008, the U.S. wind power nameplate capacity became the largest in the world, followed by Germany, with Spain a close third. Because U.S. wind farms have a higher average capacity factorthan those in Germany due to higher average wind speeds, the U.S. became the world's largest producer of energy from the wind in mid-2008.[5][6]

Wind power is growing rapidly worldwide and U.S. capacity has more than doubled in the past three years. Doubling U.S. wind energy capacity over the next three years would imply no change in annual growth.[7] Doubling U.S. renewable energy over the next three years will, however imply a very significant growth, as only one-eighth of renewable energy was from wind in 2008, and little growth impact is expected due to any other renewable source.[8] The largest projects are in Texas, the Great Plains, and California, with smaller projects either underway or under consideration in many states.

As of December 2008, Texas (7,116 MW) was the state with the most wind capacity installed, followed by Iowa (2,790 MW), and California (2,517 MW).

The largest operational wind farm is the Roscoe Wind Farm (780 MW) in Texas, which is the world's largest wind farm.[3]

[edit]Installed capacity growth

Over the last few years, wind power in the U.S. has been increasing exponentially. The following table compares the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW forTexas and California (until 2008 the two largest wind energy producing states), and the entire United States since 1999.[9] By the end of 2008, Iowa surpassed California with an installed capacity of 2790 MW.

Year Texas California U.S. 1999 180 1,646 2,500 2000 181 1,646 2,566 2001 1,096 1,714 4,261 2002 1,096 1,822 4,685 2003 1,293 2,043 6,374 2004 1,293 2,096 6,740 2005 1,995 2,150 9,149 2006 2,739 2,376 11,575 2007 4,296 2,439 16,596 2008 7,116 2,517 25,176

U.S. installed wind power, 1981-2008

Installed capacity by state as of 2008-09-30 (for an animated map of installed capacity growth, click here)

[edit]Wind power by state

In 2009, the United States indicated a target of doubling renewable energy production over the next three years. Most of the increase will come from wind power, although it would require at least 120,000 MW new capacity to double renewable energy, which in 2007 supplied 7% of U.S. energy.[10][11]

Most new wind power capacity is being built in the Great Plains region of the United States, which has a favorable combination of characteristics: ample wind resources, an extensive rail and highway network for shipping outsized turbine components, flat topography which both improves the wind and makes turbine components easier to ship, and broad acceptance from local farmers and ranchers. New development in some locations, however, is being limited by lack of additional capacity to transmit power to locations where it can be used.[12] Other areas seeing wind development include the Pacific Northwest, the Upper Midwest, and the Northeast. The table below shows wind potential and installed capacity along with existing construction (through June 27, 2009).

Kansas has high potential capacity and low existing capacity as well as low development under construction. Kansas alone has sufficient untapped wind to add 120,000 MW of capacity.[13]

State 50m
Potential
capacity
(MW)[14] 70m
Potential
capacity
(MW) Existing
capacity
(MW)[14] Under
construction
(MW)[14] Estimated
in state %
by wind
end of 2007[15] North Dakota 138,400 714 345 3.8 Texas 136,100 8,361 1,096 3.0 Kansas 121,900 1,014 0 2.3 South Dakota 117,200 288 25 6.0 Montana 116,000 272 104 1.9 Nebraska 99,100 153 42 0.7 Wyoming 85,200 816 268 1.7 Oklahoma 82,700 831 200 3.0 Minnesota 75,000 1,805 40 7.5 Iowa 62,900 3,043 409 7.5 Colorado 54,900 1,068 174 6.1 New Mexico 49,700 497 100 4.0 Michigan 16,560[16] 129 14 Idaho 8,290 147 0 1.5 New York 7,080 1,264 21 0.7 Illinois 6,980 915 703 0.8 California 6,770 2,787 20 2.8 Wisconsin 6,440 449 0 Maine 6,390 104 92 0.8 Missouri 5,960 308 150 Nevada 5,740 0 0 Pennsylvania 5,120 463 356 Oregon 4,870 1,408 426 4.4 Washington 3,740 1,575 405 2.8 Massachusetts 2,880 5.4 3.6 Utah 2,770 19.8 204 Arkansas 2,460 0.1 0 Virginia 1,380 0 0 New Jersey 1,200 7.5 0 Arizona 1,090 0 63 North Carolina 835 0 0 West Virginia 594 330 100 Connecticut 571 0 0 Vermont 537 6.0 0 New Hampshire 502 25.4 0 Ohio 416 7.4 0 Maryland 338 0 0 Delaware 197 0 0 Tennessee 186 29.0 0 Georgia 171 0 0 Rhode Island 109 0.66 0 South Carolina 59 0 0 Kentucky 34 0 0 Indiana 30 40,000[17] 531 505 Alaska unknown 3.32 0 Hawaii unknown 63.1 0 2.3 Alabama 0 0 0 Florida 0 0 0 Louisiana 0 0 0 Mississippi 0 0 0 Total 1,230,299 29,440 5,866 1.1

Note: 50 m Potential capacity is based on 10D by 5D spacing (D = rotor diameter) of 50 m high turbines in class 3 or better wind with moderate exclusions.[18]

[edit]Wind power in TexasMain article: Wind power in Texas

Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed capacity of 4,356 MW.[19] Some of the larger wind farms in Texas include the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center, Sweetwater Wind Farm, King Mountain Wind Farm,Roscoe Wind Farm, Desert Sky Wind Farm, Woodward Mt. I & II, and Brazos Wind Ranch.[20]

The Roscoe Wind Farm in Roscoe, Texas is the world's largest wind farm with 627 wind turbines and a total installed capacity of 781.5 MW, which surpasses the nearby 735.5 MW Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center. It is located about 200 miles (320 km) west of Fort Worth and the wind farm area spans parts of four Texas counties.[21][22]

Expansion of wind power capacity will help Texas meet its renewable energy goal of 5,000 new megawatts of power from renewable sources by 2015.[23]

[edit]Wind power in CaliforniaMain article: Wind power in California

Wind power in California has been an area of considerable activity for many years. California was the first U.S. state where large wind farms were developed, beginning in the early 1980s.[24] By 1995, California produced 30 percent of the entire world's wind-generated electricity.[25] In 2004, California produced 4,258 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, roughly 1.5 percent of the total energy consumed by the state each year.

More than 13,000 of California's wind turbines, or 95 percent of all of California's wind output, are located in three primary regions: Altamont Pass Wind Farm (east of San Francisco); Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm (south east of Bakersfield), andSan Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm (near Palm Springs, east of Los Angeles).[25]

[edit]Largest wind farmsFurther information: List of wind farms in the United States

As of December 2008, these are some of the largest wind farms in the United States:

Farm Installed
capacity
(MW) Yearly
production
(TWh) State Developer/Owner Altamont Pass Wind Farm 576[26] 1.1 California NextEra Energy Resources Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center 736[citation needed] Texas NextEra Energy Resources Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm 662 Texas NextEra Energy Resources Fowler Ridge Wind Farm* 750[citation needed] Indiana Dominion/BP Wind Energy Roscoe Wind Farm 781[27] Texas E.ON Climate and Renewables San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm 619 California Sweetwater Wind Farm 585[citation needed] Texas Babcock & Brown Wind/Duke Energy Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm 690 1.3[28] California Southern California Edison

* Under construction

The majority of the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm as viewed from the San Jacinto Mountains to the south. (The farm continues over the hills to the north along California State Route 62 and is not visible from this vantagepoint). The layout includes a variety of large modern and older smaller turbine designs

Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center is the world's largest wind farm at 735.5 megawatt (MW) capacity. It consists of 291 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines and 130 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines spread over nearly 47,000 acres (190 kmÂ²) of land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas.[29] The first phase of the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center consisted of 213 MW and was completed in late 2005; phase two consisted of 223.5 MW and was completed in the second quarter of 2006; phase three which consisted of 299 MW, was completed by the end of 2006.[29]

The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is currently under construction in Benton County, Indiana. The wind farm will be completed in two phases and will have a maximum generating capacity of 750 MW total. The first phase of the project, consisting of 222 wind turbines, will bring the first 400 MW on-line by the end of 2008. Phase 2 (350 MW) could begin in early 2009.[30]

A proposed 4,000 MW facility, called the Pampa Wind Project, is to be located near Pampa, Texas, with the first 1,000 MW to come online by 2011.

[edit]Wind power industryFurther information: List of wind turbine manufacturers

In the past, the U.S. wind industry relied largely on imported components; however, there has been a shift towards domestic manufacturing that is likely to continue. Since 2005 many turbine manufacturing leaders have opened U.S. facilities; of the top 10 global manufacturers in 2007, seven - Vestas, GE Energy, Gamesa, Suzlon, Siemens, Acciona, and Nordex - have an American manufacturing presence. In addition, Clipper Windpower, which is based in the U.S., has joined GE as a major domestic player in the production of utility-scale wind turbines, with the two companies together accounting for 50% of the 2008 domestic turbine market.[31]

As of April 2009, over 100 companies are producing components for wind turbines, employing thousands of workers in the manufacture of parts as varied as towers, composite blades, bearings and gears. Many existing companies in traditional manufacturing states have retooled to enter the wind industry. Their manufacturing facilities are spread across 40 states, employing workers from the Southeast to the Steel Belt, to the Great Plains and on to the Pacific Northwest.[31]

Plans for 30 new manufacturing facilities were announced in 2008, and the wind industry expects to see a continued shift towards domestic manufacturing in the coming years. In total, 70 manufacturing facilities have begun production, been expanded, or announced since January 2007.[31]

[edit]Government involvement

Kaheawa Wind Farm nearMaalaea, Maui, with 20 GE Energy 1.5 MW wind turbines

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will work with six leading wind turbine manufacturers over the next 2 years towards achieving 20% wind power in the United States by 2030. The DOE announced theMemorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GE Energy, Siemens Power Generation, Vestas Wind Systems, Clipper Windpower, Suzlon Energy, and Gamesa Corporation. Under the MOU, the DOE and the six manufacturers will collaborate to gather and exchange information relating to five major areas: research and development related to turbine reliability and operability; siting strategies for wind power facilities; standards development for turbine certification and universal interconnection of wind turbines; manufacturing advances in design, process automation, and fabrication techniques; and workforce development.[32][33]

In addition, the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced a number of wind technology projects, including a new state-of-the-art wind turbine blade test facility to be build in Ingleside, Texas. The Texas-NREL Large Blade Research and Test Facility will be capable of testing blades as long as 70 meters (230 feet). It will be built and operated through a partnership among NREL, DOE, and a state consortium led by University of Houston, with the university owning and operating the facility's buildings, DOE funding up to $2 million in capital costs, and NREL providing technical and operational assistance. The blade test facility is estimated to cost between $12 million and $15 million and should be completed by 2010. Located on the Gulf Coast, the Texas facility will complement a similar facility that is being built on the coast of Massachusetts.[34]

NREL has also recently signed agreements with Siemens Power Generation and First Wind, a wind power developer. Siemens is launching a new research and development facility in nearby Boulder, Colorado, and has agreed to locate and test a commercial-scale wind turbine at NREL's National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). First Wind (formerly called UPC Wind Partners, LLC) owns and operates the 30-megawatt Kaheawa Wind Power farm in West Maui, Hawaii, and has agreed to let the NWTC establish a Remote Research Affiliate Partner Site at the facility. The Maui satellite of NWTC will collaborate with First Wind on studies to develop advanced wind energy technologies, including energy storage and integration of renewable electricity into Maui's electrical grid.[35]

In July 2008, Texas approved a $4.93 billion expansion of the state's electric grid to bring wind energy to its major cities. Transmission companies will recoup the cost of constructing the new power lines, expected to be completed in 2013, from fees estimated at $4 per month for residential customers.[36]

The Green Power Express is a proposal for an electric power transmission grid that would transmit up to 12,000 MW of wind generated power from the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa to the Chicago area and to southeastern U.S. states.[37] It has received some approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the U.S. government.

[edit]Tax credits

A federal production tax credit (PTC) of $19 per MWÂ·h generated for the first ten years for wind energy sold as well as RPS mandating a certain percentage of electricity sales come from renewable energy sources in about half of the states has boosted the development of the wind industry. At the time the wind power tax credit was due to expire at the end of the year, and the display was intended to bring awareness to the wind industry. Each year that the tax credit has not been renewed well before it expires the number of installations has dropped significantly the following year, and since it was not renewed until October 3, it is expected that 2009 will as well see a slowing of construction starts.[38] The 30% tax credit for installing photovoltaics was extended at the same time for eight years, but wind for only one year. The industry has asked for a long term extension, in order to provide stability, particularly because projects of long lead times for project development and construction (2 to 3 years of wind data collection, 2 years lead time on turbine orders, and 6 to 9 months for construction.)

A recent effort has ensued to make the production tax credit either refundable or transferable. Because wind energy projects do not provide returns sufficient to capture the full value of the PTC on their own, the PTCs are not currently refundable or tradable, the owner of a wind energy project must either have profits from other activities to provide "tax appetite" or include a tax equity partner in the project financing. In the fourth quarter of 2008 the cost of tax equity capital shot up as a response to the global credit crisis, making the cost of energy from wind energy projects increase by 10% or more.

In 2008 a 131-foot wind turbine blade was on display first outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver and then the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.[39]

[edit]Additional income for farmers

Shiloh Wind Power Plant inSolano County, California

Main article: wind farm

There is competition for wind farms among farmers in places like Iowa or ranchers in Colorado. Farmers, with no investment on their part, typically receive $3,000-5,000 per year in royalties[40] from the local utility for siting a single, large, advanced-design wind turbine, which occupies a quarter-acre of land.[41][42][43][44][45]

[edit]Aesthetics, the environment and quality of lifeMain article: Environmental effects of wind power

Landscape and ecological issues may be significant for some wind farm proposals.[46] However, when appropriate planning procedures for site selection are followed environmental problems should be minimal. Some people may still object to wind farms, but their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by climate change and fossil fuel depletion, the need for energy security, and the opinions of the broader community.[47][48]

Worldwide experience has shown that community consultation and direct involvement of the general public in wind farm projects has helped to increase community approval,[49] and some wind farms overseas have become tourist attractions.[48][50]

In July 2008, oilman T. Boone Pickens emerged as a vocal advocate of wind power, although he later scaled it back due to problems with financing.[5]

[edit]Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, the Cape Wind project, a proposal to construct 130 offshore wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, has been the subject of heavy debate for many years[51] in the affluent communities of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, andNantucket, as well as among environmentalists.

[edit]Offshore wind power

In June 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar issued five exploratory leases for wind power production on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore from New Jersey and Delaware. The leases authorize data gathering activities, allowing for the construction of meteorological towers on the Outer Continental Shelf from six to 18 miles offshore.[52]

[edit]Rhode Island

At the state level, a goal was set in 2004 by the governor of having 15% of electricity come from renewable sources by 2020. As of 2008, Rhode Island has less than a quarter of one percent of its energy coming from in-state renewable sources.

State officials picked Deepwater Wind to build a $1.5-billion, 385-megawatt wind farm in federal waters off Block Island. The 100-turbine project could provide 1.3 terawatt-hours (TWÂ·h) of electricity per year - 15 percent of all electricity used in the state.[53][54][55]

[edit]See alsoUnited States portal

American Wind Energy Association
List of wind farms in the United States
Liberty Wind Turbine
National Wind
Renewable energy in the United States
List of onshore wind farms

[edit]References

^ a b c American Wind Energy Association (2009). Annual Wind Industry Report, Year Ending 2008 pp. 9-10.
^ a b c de f U.S. Wind Energy Industry Installs over 1,600 MW in Third Quarter
^ a b 9 of the World's Most Amazing Wind Farms
^American Wind Energy Association (2009). Annual Wind Industry Report, Year Ending 2008 p. 17.
^ a b Garber, Kent (2008-08-22). "Why T. Boone Pickens Could Be the Best Hope for Wind Energy". US News and World Report. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
^ "Report finds US is world's top wind producer". The Guardian. 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
^ "Obama clean energy goal is good start: industry". Reuters. January 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ Net Generation by Other Renewables Wind made up 10% of renewable electrical energy in 2007, and hydroelectricity, which has been declining, 70%.
^ "The Energy Report (Publication 96-1266). Chapter 11: Wind Power". Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
^ Address to Joint Session of Congress retrieved 7 March 2009
^ How Realistic is Obama's Goal to Double Clean Energy by 2012? retrieved 7 March 2009
^ "Texas Will Spend Billions on Transmission of Wind Power". Associated Press. July 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ Kansas Wind Energy Project
^ a b c U.S. Wind Energy Projects
^ Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark (05 2008). "Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2007". United States Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
^Michigan Wind Resources Retrieved 16 April 2009
^Indiana's Renewable Energy Resources Retrieved 16 August 2008
^ An Assessment of the Available Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential in the Contiguous United States Pacific Northwest Laboratory August 1991 pg. B.1 Retrieved 21 August 2008
^ Wind Energy Grows By Record 8,300 MW in 2008
^ Texas Wind Energy Projects
^EC&R Completes 780-MW Roscoe Wind Farm Renewable Energy World, 2 October 2009.
^Eileen O'Grady. E.ON completes world's largest wind farm in Texas Reuters, October 1, 2009.
^Airtricity Finalizes 209-MW Wind Project in Texas, Renewable Energy Access, 16 May 2007.
^ Major CA Wind Energy Resource Areas
^ a b "Overview of Wind Energy in California". California Energy Commission. May 15, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^"Altamont Pass, California - Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
^ Eileen O'Grady. E.ON completes world's largest wind farm in Texas, Reuters, October 1, 2009.
^ "Wind Plants of California's Tehachapi Pass". www.ilr.tu-berlin.de. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
^ a b FPL Energy, LLC (2007-09-07). "Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center now largest wind farm in the world". FPL Energy, LLC. Retrieved 2007-06-14.
^ Fowler Ridge Wind Farm
^ a b c The Economic Reach of Wind
^Department of Energy - DOE Announces Effort to Advance U.S. Wind Power Manufacturing Capacity
^ 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply, May 2008
^ NREL: New Wind Power Partnerships to Benefit Industry and Nation
^ "UPC Wind Signs Agreement with Department of Energy to Establish National Wind echnology Center on Maui". First Wind. April 1, 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
^ Texas Approves a $4.93 Billion Wind-Power Project
^http://www.itctransco.com
^ AWEA 3rd quarter results
^ Wind power on display in Minneapolis
^ Jones, Tim (2007-12-11). "More farmers seeing wind as cash crop". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
^"Stabilizing Climate" in Lester R. Brown, Plan B 2.0 Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2006), p. 191.
^ "Legendary Texas oilman embraces wind power". Star Tribune. 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
^ Fahey, Anna (2008-07-09). "Texas Oil Man Says We Can Break the Addiction". Sightline Daily. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
^ "T. Boone Pickens Places $2 Billion Order for GE Wind Turbines". Wind Today Magazine. 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
^Farmers reap stability from wind
^ "Gone with the wind", New Scientist, 8 July 2006, pp. 36-39.
^ Wind Farms The facts and the fallacies
^ a b Case Study - Arga Where the wild things are
^ The world's leader in Wind Power
^ Ten Mile Lagoon Wind Farm
^CapeCodTimes.com - Wind Farms
^ DOI Announces Five Exploratory Leases for Offshore Wind Energy
^ Lord, Peter B. (April 24, 2009). "Deepwater wind project making headway". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ "Rhode Island Chooses Deepwater Wind to Build Off-Shore Wind Farm". RenewableEnergyWorld.com. September 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ Nesi, Ted (April 22, 2009). "U.S. offshore wind rules expected today". Providence Business News. Retrieved 2009-04-29.

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to (category): Wind power in the United States or Wind farms in the United States

US-DOE:
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- and Hydropower Program Web site.
Danish windmill blade maker to open U.S. factory
FPL Energy to Add 10,000 MW of Wind Power by 2012
First death of a U.S. wind farm worker recorded
"Wind Farm Buffets Family, Town Relations by David Baron". Retrieved 2008-04-09.
U.S. Wind Industry Installs 1400 MW of Wind Power in First Quarter 2008
Research finds wind power poses least risk to wildlife
Plans advance for first U.S. offshore wind farm
Wind Development in New York State (Wind Power Law Blog)
Surpassing expectations: State of the US wind power market
Offshore Wind May Power the Future

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