Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) is a concentrated solar power plant in California, United States. With the combined capacity from three separate locations at 354 megawatt (MW), it was once the world's second largest solar thermal energy generating facility, until the commissioning of the even larger Ivanpah facility in 2014. It consisted of nine solar power plants in California's Mojave Desert, where insolation is among the best available in the United States.
The Altamont Pass wind farm is located in the Altamont Pass of the Diablo Range in Northern California. It is one of the earliest wind farms in the United States. The first wind turbines were placed on the Altamont in the early 1980s by Fayette Manufacturing Corporation on land owned by cattle rancher Joe Jess. The wind farm is composed of 4930 relatively small wind turbines of various types, making it at one time the largest wind farm in the world in terms of capacity. Altamont Pass is still one of the largest concentration of wind turbines in the world, with a capacity of 576 megawatts (MW), producing about 125 MW on average and 1.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) yearly. They were installed after the 1970s energy crisis in response to favorable tax policies for investors.
Wind power in California had initiative and early development during Governor Jerry Brown's first two terms in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The state's wind power capacity has grown by nearly 350% since 2001, when it was less than 1,700 MW. In 2016, wind energy supplied about 6.9% of California's total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 1.3 million households. Most of California's wind generation is found in the Tehachapi area of Kern County, California, with some large projects in Solano, Contra Costa and Riverside counties as well. California is among the states with the largest amount of installed wind power capacity. In recent years, California has lagged behind other states when it comes to the installation of wind power. It was ranked 4th overall for wind power electrical generation at the end of 2016 behind Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma. As of 2019, California had 5,973 megawatts (MW) of wind power generating capacity installed.
The Milford Wind Corridor Project, also called Milford Wind, is a 306 megawatt (MW) wind farm spanning Beaver and Millard County north of Milford, Utah. It became the state's largest wind facility when the first phase was completed in 2009. The electricity is being sold to the Southern California Public Power Authority.
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.
At the end of 2016, the installed capacity for wind power in Minnesota was 3,500 megawatts (MW). Wind power generated nearly 18 percent of Minnesota’s electricity in 2016, ranking sixth in the nation for wind energy as a share of total electricity generation.
Wind power in Illinois provided nearly 10% of the state's generated electrical power in 2020 powering 1,231,900 homes. At the end of 2020, Illinois had 6,300 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed, ranking fifth among states for installed wind turbine capacity. An additional 1,100 MW of wind power was under construction across the state at the end of 2020.
Wind power in Indiana was limited to a few small water-pumping windmills on farms until 2008 with construction of Indiana's first utility-scale wind power facility, Goodland with a nameplate capacity of 130 MW. As of March of 2024, Indiana had a total of 2,743 MW of wind power capacity installed, ranking it 12th among U.S. states. Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.
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.
The Tehachapi Wind Resource Area (TWRA) is a large wind resource area along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains in California. It is the largest wind resource area in California, encompassing an area of approximately 800 sq mi (2,100 km2) and producing a combined 3,507 MW of renewable electricity between its 5 independent wind farms.
The Escalante Solar Project is a 240 MWAC (315 MWp) photovoltaic power station located about 5 miles north of the town of Milford in Beaver County, Utah. The project was developed by SunEdison, built by Mortenson Construction, and commissioned in September 2016. The power is being sold under three separate 20-year power purchase agreements to Rocky Mountain Power which serves customers in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. At 1900 acres (3.0 sq miles), it is the largest grouping of photovoltaic generators in the state of Utah.
The Enterprise Solar Farm is an 80 MWAC (105 MWp) photovoltaic power station located about 25 miles west of Cedar City, Utah in Iron County. The project was developed by SunEdison, built by Mortenson Construction, and commissioned in September 2016. The electricity is being sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement to Rocky Mountain Power which serves customers in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
