“Meteoric” is one way to describe wind energy’s rise to the top of America’s renewable energy industry. Amid repeated calls from scientists and activists to undertake measures to curb global warming, lawmakers, politicians, and the energy industry have responded.
Foremost in that effort is the call for carbon-free energy production via alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Many states have followed suit, with governors from coast to coast implementing wide-ranging initiatives meant to gradually reduce the carbon footprint of power generation in the coming years.
Wind generation is at the leading edge of the movement toward clean energy production. Fields of wind turbines across the country have slowly started to increase their proportion of total energy production. And just this year, President Joe Biden announced measures meant to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy.
While US offshore wind production currently lags behind that of other developed nations, its onshore capacity is second only to China. Wind energy’s share of total utility-scale electricity generation in the US grew from less than 1% in 1990 to over 8% last year.
In 2019, more than $13 billion was invested in wind power. The amount of new generation capacity added to the nation’s electrical grids through wind projects was greater than all other sources except natural gas.
Driving the investment may be the fact that it’s far cheaper to install wind farms than it is to build hydroelectric plants and solar farms. Alongside the value, the federal government subsidized wind construction with tax credits.
The result? Wind generation exceeded hydroelectric power for the first time in 2019.
While tax credits and reasonable construction costs have increased wind’s popularity, perhaps its greatest advantage is availability.
Wind regularly barrels across the Midwest and the Texas-Oklahoma border at average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour. This is a key speed range, as turbines reach their rated generation capacity when winds hit 26 to 30 miles per hour.
This explains why the Midwest and the West South Central region are home to the top wind-generated electricity producers in the nation. Texas leads the nation in total wind energy production, generating more than twice as much wind electricity as the next state.
And while the Lone Star State’s wind energy makes up a significant portion of its renewable energy generation (92%), Kansas’ renewable energy generation relies on wind more than any other state. Kansas’ wind turbines produce more than 99% of its renewable energy and 42% of its total.
DID YOU KNOW?
Plus500 is a regulated online broker with a platform for trading contracts-for-difference (CFDs) on commodities, ETFs, forex, indices, options, and shares. Read more at Commodity.com’s Plus500 review.
The data used in this analysis is from the US Energy Information Administration. To determine the states producing the most wind energy, researchers at Commodity.com calculated each state’s annual wind energy production, measured in megawatt-hours.
Researchers also calculated the absolute change in wind energy production since 2010, wind’s share of total energy production, and wind’s share of total renewable energy production.
Here are the states producing the most wind energy.
States Producing the Most Wind Energy
15. Michigan
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 5,825,705
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 5,465,365
- Wind share of total energy production: 5.0%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 58.7%
14. Indiana
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 6,216,030
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 3,281,987
- Wind share of total energy production: 6.1%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 85.7%
13. Oregon
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 6,568,889
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 2,648,882
- Wind share of total energy production: 10.6%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 17.0%
12. Washington
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 6,677,261
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 1,932,582
- Wind share of total energy production: 6.3%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 9.0%
11. New Mexico
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 6,892,087
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 5,059,905
- Wind share of total energy production: 19.6%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 81.1%
10. Nebraska
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 7,211,092
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 6,789,447
- Wind share of total energy production: 19.3%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 83.2%
RELATED
Utilizing Contracts-for-Difference (CFDs), a trader can speculate on the direction of an asset’s value — up or down — without physically owning, storing, or shipping the asset in any way. CFD brokers can underwrite significantly higher trades via leverage, multiplying a trader’s wager.
9. Colorado
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 10,852,376
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 7,400,525
- Wind share of total energy production: 19.3%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 77.3%
8. Minnesota
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 10,964,869
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 6,173,146
- Wind share of total energy production: 18.5%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 75.8%
7. North Dakota
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 11,213,025
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 7,117,384
- Wind share of total energy production: 27.3%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 77.9%
6. California
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 13,735,069
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 7,656,437
- Wind share of total energy production: 6.8%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 14.1%
5. Illinois
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 14,459,597
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 10,005,963
- Wind share of total energy production: 7.8%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 96.0%
4. Kansas
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 21,123,539
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 17,718,474
- Wind share of total energy production: 41.5%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 99.6%
3. Iowa
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 26,304,990
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 17,134,653
- Wind share of total energy production: 42.0%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 96.2%
RELATED
Iowa is one of the lowest-ranked states by fossil fuel energy consumption with just under 70% of energy derived from non-renewable sources.
2. Oklahoma
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 29,008,131
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 25,200,048
- Wind share of total energy production: 34.0%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 87.2%
TRENDING
The best online broker for commodity trading depends on your individual needs and preferences as a trader. Be sure to check out our introductory guide to commodity brokers before you start trading.
1. Texas
- Annual wind energy production (MWh): 83,620,371
- Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh): 57,368,961
- Wind share of total energy production: 17.3%
- Wind share of total renewable energy production: 92.0%
RELATED
Despite the highest wind energy output in Texas, some of the state’s cities have the highest electricity bills in the country.
Detailed Findings and Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the US Energy Information Administration’s Electricity Power Data.
To determine the states producing the most wind energy, researchers calculated the annual wind energy production, measured in megawatt-hours.
Researchers also calculated absolute change in wind energy production since 2010, wind’s share of total energy production, and wind’s share of total renewable energy production.
!function(e,i,n,s){var t=”InfogramEmbeds”,d=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];if(window[t]&&window[t].initialized)window[t].process&&window[t].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var o=e.createElement(“script”);o.async=1,o.id=n,o.src=”https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”,d.parentNode.insertBefore(o,d)}}(document,0,”infogram-async”);Photo Credits: Alamy Stock Photo
