Although California still tops the list formegawatts of wind power installed in 2011, states likeOhio, South Dakota and Iowa are increasinglyturning to wind power as an alternative energy source, according toa new study by the American WindEnergy Assn. (AWEA).
|The U.S. wind industry installed more than 6,810 megawatts (MW)in 2011, a 31 percent increase over 2010, and has more than 8,300MW currently under construction in 31 states and PuertoRico, according to the U.S. Wind Industry Fourth Quarter2011 Market Report. The cumulative installed wind capacity in theU.S. grew 17 percent from 2010, and now totals 46,919 MW.
|The fastest-growing states for wind power in 2011 wereOhio (929 percent growth over 2010),Vermont (625 percent growth),Massachusetts (151 percent growth),Idaho (75 percent growth) andMaryland (71 percent growth). Only 12 states,mostly in the southeastern U.S., have no wind power presence.
|The growth is spurred in large part by the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), which leveraged an average of $17billion a year in private investments since its introduction in2009. The incentive, which will expire this year withoutreauthorization; currently, bipartisan legislation (HR 3307,the American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit ExtensionAct) has the support of 56 cosponsors.
|Click “next” to view a slideshow of the top 10 states foroverall wind power.
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No. 1: Texas (unchanged from 2010 ranking)
|Currently installed: 10,377 installations
|New in 2011: Not known
|Under construction: 857.3 MW, 389 turbines
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No. 2: Iowa (unchanged from 2010 ranking)
|Currently installed: 4,322 installations
|New in 2011: 646.7 MW, 282 turbines
|Under construction: Not known.
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No. 3: California (unchanged from 2010ranking)
|Currently installed: 3,927 installations
|New in 2011: 921.3 MW, 328 turbines
|Under construction: 847.45 MW, 441 turbines
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No. 4: Illinois (2010 ranking, No. 5)
|Currently installed: 2,743 installations
|New in 2011: 692.45 MW, 404 turbines
|Under construction: 615.4 MW, 389 turbines
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No. 5: Minnesota (2010 ranking, No. 4)
|Currently installed: 2,733 installations
|New in 2011: 541.8 MW, 331 turbines
|Under construction: Not known.
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No. 6: Washington (Unchanged from 2010ranking)
|Currently installed: 2,573 installations
|New in 2011: Not known.
|Under construction: Not known.
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No. 7: Oregon (Unchanged from 2010 ranking)
|Currently installed: 2,513 installations
|New in 2011: Not known.
|Under construction: 640 MW, 256 turbines
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No. 8: Colorado (Unchanged from 2010ranking)
|Currently installed: 1,800 installations
|New in 2011: 501 MW, 262 turbines
|Under construction: Not known.
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No. 9: Oklahoma (Unchanged from 2010ranking)
|Currently installed: 2,007 installations
|New in 2011: Not known.
|Under construction: Not known.
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No. 10: North Dakota (Unchanged from 2010ranking)
|Currently installed: 1,445 installations
|New in 2011: Not known.
|Under construction: Not known.
|Want to continue reading?
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