U.S. Sees Growing Share of Electricity from Wind Power, with Iowa in Lead

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--More than 4.5% of the nation's electricity comes from wind power, which is one of the fastest-growing sources of generation capacity, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) (Washington, D.C.) reports that Iowa leads the nation in wind-derived power, which makes up 29% of the state's electricity. Iowa is followed by South Dakota at 25% and Kansas at 15%.

Industrial Info is tracking 366 U.S. wind power projects with a combined value of $124.43 billion. This includes 283 projects, valued at $91.72 billion, that are scheduled to begin construction between April 2015 and December 2017.

Click on the image at right for a chart detailing the top 10 U.S. states for active wind power projects.

The states with the most renewable wind projects scheduled to begin construction between April 2015 and December 2017 are Texas, with 46 wind projects valued at $18.52 billion; Illinois, with 23 wind projects valued at $8.57 billion; and North Dakota, with 17 wind projects valued at $654 billion.

The top wind turbine manufacturers include Vestas (Aarhus, Denmark), Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany), Goldwind (Urumqi, China), General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) and Enercon (Aurich, Germany).

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) (Austin, Texas) reported that more than 10% of electrical generation in its control area came from wind, compared with 6.2% in 2009. Transmission grid constraints in the state have diminished as a result of transmission and substation upgrades in the past several years, contributing to the growth in wind generation.

AWEA is urging the federal government to prioritize transmission and distribution planning in Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) and Multi-Value Projects (MVP), in order to facilitate the interconnection of renewable energy projects and avoid stranded assets. Additional studies are being conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) (Washington, D.C.) on transmission system planning and analysis, in order to strengthen the nation's electrical transmission grid through the integration of wind and solar power.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 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.