The utility-scale land-based wind sector had another strong year with 7,588 megawatts installed during 2018, accompanied by record low costs and prices, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2018 Wind Technologies Market Report.
Total utility-scale wind capacity has risen to more than 96 gigawatts, and the U.S. offshore wind industry has 25,824 megawatts in development.
A total of 41 states operate utility-scale wind projects. Texas has nearly 25 gigawatts of wind capacity. California, Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma each have more than 5 gigawatts. Wind energy provides 6.5 percent of electricity in the United States, more than 10 percent of total electricity generation in 14 states and more than 30 percent in Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma.
“Onshore wind energy installation continues to grow across the country, and this administration has proven that we can pursue renewable energy advancements and deployment, particularly wind energy resources, which are predicted to surpass other sources of renewable power generation this year,” said Mark Menezes, undersecretary of energy. “And with over 25 gigawatts in the development pipeline, U.S. offshore wind is poised to be a significant part of our comprehensive energy portfolio in the coming years.”