The American Wind Energy Association’s annual report shows more than 10 GigaWatts (10,000 MW) of new wind power in the U.S. The total installed wind capacity is now over 35 GigaWatts (35,000 MW). Natural gas continues to be the leader in new generating capacity in 2009, but wind is a strong second and accounts for 39% of new generating capacity. Offshore wind is a new category in the report with 12 proposed projects. Renewable energy sources were responsible for 10.5% of U.S. power generation in 2009. Wind generation was responsible for about one sixth of this, or 1.8% of total power generation. It is estimated that the US wind industry employed 85,000 people in 2009.
36 states now have utility-scale wind projects. Of these, 14 states have more more than 1 GigaWatt (1,000 MW) of installed wind capacity. Since 36 states have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), it is important to look at wind generation on a state by state basis as a proportion of total generation. Iowa is the leading state with respect to proportion of wind power, getting 14.2% of its power from wind generation. North Dakota and Minnesota are close to getting 10 % of their power from wind. Texas leads in total wind capacity.
Transmission continues to be an important factor in potentially limiting the expansion of wind generation. The cost of new transmission lines – the U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that achieving 20 % wind power by 2030 will cost $60 billion in new wind-power transmission – and the difficulty in getting regulatory approval for new transmission corridors may limit the expansion of wind power generation in the future.
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