Wind Power in the US Today

The current installed capacity of power produced from wind in the US is 51,630 MW. Thirty-nine states have some form of wind power production. The top five states with an installed capacity of wind power are Texas, California, Iowa, Oregon, and Illinois. Shown below is a list of wind potential for the top five states at 50 meters above ground. A complete chart can be found here.

Texas – 470,000 MWh

California – 23,000 MWh

Iowa – 220,000 MWh

Oregon – 17,000 MWh

Illinois – 24,000 MWh

In 2010 the US generated over 4TWh of electricity from wind power.

Cost

Even though the ongoing costs of wind power are only slightly more than the cost of fossil fuels and natural gas the initial investment for an installed capacity is significantly more expensive. However, the government provides incentive for the installation of wind power. Also the trend in the cost of wind power is a downward one. As technology gets better and if turbines begin to be mass produced than the cost will inevitably go down. Click here for to see a map of cost trends for wind energy until 2020.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power#Cost_trends

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_United_States#State_trends

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_generation_potential_in_the_United_States

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/guide/costs_wind_turbines.html

Edited: 12/3/12 by Andria Young, young10@illinois.edu

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