Statistics
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Source: [5] List of wind farms
See alsoRelated Research Articles A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an extensive area. Wind farms can be either onshore or offshore.  American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), is an America] domestic electric utility company in the United States. It is one of the largest electric utility companies in the country, with more than five million customers in 11 states.  Pacheco State Park is a California State Park to the south of Pacheco Pass in the Diablo Range, located mostly in western Merced County, California but extending into southeastern Santa Clara County and near Hollister in San Benito County. Located 24 miles (39 km) west of Los Banos, California and 20 miles (32 km) east of Gilroy, the park entrance is on Dinosaur Point Road, a short distance from California State Route 152 near Pacheco Pass. The park contains 6,890 acres (2,790 ha), though only the western 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) to the west are open to the public. The eastern two-thirds of the park are closed due to an underdeveloped trail system and safety concerns over the numerous wind turbines that are located in the Gonzaga Wind Farm that occupies the area. In 2018, it was announced that the 1980s-era turbines would be replaced with more efficient models, which would increase power production capacity from the original 16.5 megawatts (MW) to as much as 80 MW.  Wind power is a branch of the energy industry that has expanded quickly in the United States over the last several years. From January through December 2023, 425.2 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power, or 10.18% of electricity in the United States. The average wind turbine generates enough electricity in 46 minutes to power the average American home for one month. In 2019, wind power surpassed hydroelectric power as the largest renewable energy source in the U.S.  Wind power in Texas, a portion of total energy in Texas, consists of over 150 wind farms, which together have a total nameplate capacity of over 30,000 MW. If Texas were a country, it would rank fifth in the world: The installed wind capacity in Texas exceeds installed wind capacity in all countries but China, the United States, Germany and India. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state. According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), wind power accounted for at least 15.7% of the electricity generated in Texas during 2017, as wind was 17.4% of electricity generated in ERCOT, which manages 90% of Texas's power. ERCOT set a new wind output record of nearly 19.7 GW at 7:19 pm Central Standard Time on Monday, January 21, 2019.  Wyoming has one of the highest wind power potentials of any state in the United States. In 2019, Wyoming had wind powered electricity generating capacity of 1,589 MW, which produced 9.85% of its electric generation, with an additional 3,753 MW under construction. However, the wind generation in that year was Wyoming's third-lowest in the 2010s. By 2020, wind capacity increased to 2738 MW and 8448 gigawatt-hours of electricity were produced from wind in 2021, more than double 2019 production. Additional wind capacity and needed transmission lines are under construction or planned, despite political headwinds from Wyoming's strong coal and oil sectors.  Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is a wind farm on Backbone Mountain in Preston and Tucker counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. When it came online in December 2002, Mountaineer was the first wind farm in West Virginia, and the largest east of the Mississippi River. Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is owned and operated by Florida Power & Light. Exelon Generation purchases the power produced by Mountaineer and markets it across the Mid-Atlantic region through its partnership with Community Energy, Inc., a leading wind energy marketer in the United States.  Coopers Gap Wind Farm is a 453 megawatt wind farm in the Western Downs and South Burnett regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located approximately 175 km north-west of the state capital Brisbane, and 50 kilometres south-west of Kingaroy and 65 kilometers north of Dalby. When construction was announced to be completed on 30 April 2020, it became the largest wind farm in Australia. This record was held until 10 December 2020 when the Stockyard Hill Wind Farm in Victoria was completed. In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.  Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC), also known as Mojave Wind Farm, is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world. The Alta Wind Energy Center is a wind farm located in Tehachapi Pass of the Tehachapi Mountains, in Kern County, California. As of 2022, it is the largest wind farm in the United States, with a combined installed capacity of 1,550 MW (2,080,000 hp). The project, being developed near Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm— site of the first large-scale wind farms installed in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s—is "a powerful illustration of the growing size and scope of modern wind projects".  The US state of Colorado has vast wind energy resources and the installed electricity capacity and generation from wind power in Colorado has been growing significantly in recent years. The growth has been sustained due to a combination of falling costs, continuing federal incentives, and the state's aggressive renewable portfolio standard that requires 30% of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.  West of Duddon Sands Wind Farm (WoDS), occasionally also known as West Duddon Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south west of Walney Island off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, in the Irish Sea, England. It was developed by Scottish Power and Ørsted A/S.  Solar power in West Virginia on rooftops can provide 23% of all electricity used in West Virginia from 6,300 MW of solar panels, but West Virginia will be the last state in the United States to reach grid parity - the point where solar panels are cheaper than grid electricity - without incentives, due to the low cost of electricity - about $0.062/kWh. The point where grid parity is reached is a product of the average insolation and the average cost of electricity. At $0.062/kWh and 4.3 sun-hours/day, solar panels would need to come down to ~$1,850/kW installed to achieve grid parity. The first state in the US to achieve grid parity was Hawaii. Solar power's favorable carbon footprint compared to fossil fuels is a major motivation for expanding renewable energy in the state, especially when compared to coal to generate electrical power. Solar power in Virginia on rooftops is estimated to be capable of providing 32.4% of electricity used in Virginia using 28,500 MW of solar panels. Installing solar panels provides a 6.8% return on investment in Virginia, and a 5 kW array would return a profit of $16,041 over its 25 year life.  The U.S. State of Oklahoma has high potential capacity for wind power in the western half of the state. In 2021, Oklahoma's installed wind generation capacity was almost 10,500 megawatts, supplying over 40% of the state's generated electricity and 85% of Oklahoma's total generating capacity from all renewable resources. As of the end of 2021, New Mexico had 4,001 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, responsible for 30% of electricity produced that year. Wind power in New Mexico has the potential to generate more than all of the electricity consumed in the state.  Wind power in Virginia is in the early stages of development. In March 2015, Virginia became the first state in the United States to receive a wind energy research lease to build and operate offshore wind turbines in federal waters. Virginia has no utility scale wind farms. References
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