Central U.S. Propels Wind-Energy Growth with $12.6 Billion Under Construction

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Anyone who has lived in or around "Tornado Alley" can tell you that the geographic center of the contiguous U.S. has some of the nation's strongest winds. Not surprisingly, this area accounted for 73% of U.S. wind-capacity additions from 2011 to 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and Industrial Info's Project Database shows it accounts for the bulk of windfarms under construction. Industrial Info is tracking 36 windfarm projects under construction in the central U.S. states, with a total investment value of more than $12.6 billion--roughly 86% of the total investment value for windfarm projects under construction across the U.S.

"Central U.S." is defined in this article as the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These states account for the bulk of the growth in overall U.S. wind capacity from January 2011 to December 2020, when it rose from 40.1 gigawatts (GW) to 118.3 GW, according to the EIA.

Click on the image at right for a heat map of windfarms under construction in these central U.S. states, according to Industrial Info's Geolocator tool.

The single largest wind-energy project under construction is in central Oklahoma, the heart of Tornado Alley: Invenergy LLC's (Chicago, Illinois) $1.3 billion Traverse Windfarm near Weatherford. Construction on the 999-megawatt (MW) facility began in March after Invenergy secured financing; upon completion, management of the windfarm will be handed over to American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) (Columbus, Ohio). Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a detailed project report.

Texas accounts for the most spending of any U.S. state on windfarms at any stage of development, according to Industrial Info's Project Database, and its largest under construction is NextEra Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) $600 million White Mesa Windfarm, near Ozona in West Texas. Construction kicked off on the 500-MW facility toward the end of last year, and its 180 General Electric (NYSE:GE) turbines are expected to be fully operational toward the end of this year. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.

Texas alone grew from 9.4 GW of active wind capacity in January 2011 to 27.9 GW by the end of 2020, according to the EIA.

Pattern Energy Group Incorporated (NASDAQ:PEGI) (San Francisco, California) and asset management firm Riverstone Holdings LLC (New York, New York) are at work on a trio of windfarms in central New Mexico's Lincoln and Torrence counties: the $400 million Ancho Windfarm, designed to generate 200 MW and to finish construction this summer; and the $698 million Red Cloud and $544 million Tecolote windfarms, designed to generate 349 MW and 272 MW, respectively, and to finish construction toward the end of the year. Subscribers can learn more from Industrial Info's detailed reports for the Ancho, Red Cloud and Tecolote projects.

Nebraska has been nicknamed "The Bread Basket of the World," but its geographic positioning and flat terrain make it an ideal engine for wind energy. Orsted A/S (Fredericia, Denmark), already one of the major wind-energy developers in the northeast U.S., has been building the $400 million Haystack Windfarm in Pierce, Nebraska, since November. The facility is expected to generate 298 MW from 69 Siemens turbines. Orsted has signed long-term power purchase agreements with PepsiCo Incorporated (NASDAQ:PEP) (Purchase, New York), Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) (Austin, Minnesota) for offtake from Haystack. Subscribers can click here for a detailed project report.

The 36 windfarm projects under construction in the central U.S. states have a total capacity of about 7.8 GW. Subscribers can click here for a full list.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.