More wind power capacity was installed in the US than any other generating technology in both 2019 and 2020, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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US wind capacity
Annual US wind turbine capacity additions set a record in 2020, totaling 14.2 gigawatts (GW) and surpassing the previous record of 13.2 GW added in 2012. After 2020’s record year for wind turbine capacity addition, total US wind turbine capacity is now 118 GW.
This is according to data published by the EIA in its Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.
The surge occurred, according to the EIA, because of an impending phaseout of the full value of the US production tax credit (PTC) at the end of 2020. However, in December 2020, Congress extended the PTC for another year.
In the US overall, 8.4% of utility-scale electricity generation in 2020 came from wind turbines. Many of the turbines added in late 2020 will have contributed to increases in wind-powered electricity generation in 2021. The EIA expects wind’s share of electricity generation to have increased to 10% in 2021.
States that lead in wind growth
Texas, which installed 30.2 GW as of December 2020, is the state with the most wind turbine capacity. In 2020, Texas generated more electricity from wind than the next three highest states (Iowa, Oklahoma, and Kansas) combined.
However, Texas also generates and consumes more electricity than any other state, and wind is just under 20% of Texas’ electricity generation mix.
In Iowa and Kansas, wind is No. 1 for in-state electricity generation. In both states, wind beat coal to be the top source of electricity generation in 2019.
Read more: Clean energy was the No. 2 source of electricity in the US in 2020
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