Wind power in the United States

Wind power in the United States is a growing industry. As of 2011, the total installed capacity of was 42,432 megawatts (MW),^[1] making it second in the world, behind China. In 2010 wind power accounted for 2.3% of the electricity generated in the United States.^[2] This amounted to 94,650 thousand megawatt-hours of electricity.^[3]

A bar graph displaying US installed wind power from 1981 to 2010

Installed capacity by state as of 2008-09-30

Vestas V47-660kW wind turbine at American Wind Power Center in Lubbock, Texas

Driven by state renewable energy mandates, fourteen states have installed over 1,000 MW of wind capacity, and a total of 37 states now have installed at least some large-scale wind power. Texas, with 10,135 MW of capacity, has the most installed wind power capacity of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,675 MW. The Roscoe Wind Farm (781 MW) in Texas is the largest wind farm in the US as of 2011.^[4]

The U.S. wind industry generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars. Wind projects boost local tax bases, and help the economy of rural communities by providing a steady income stream to farmers with wind turbines on their land.^[5] GE Energy is the largest domestic wind turbine manufacturer.^[5]