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 2022, 434.8 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power, or 10.25% 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.
The Mendota Hills Wind Farm is a wind farm in Lee County, Illinois near the village of Paw Paw. It operates 29 wind turbines. Each wind turbine stands 214 ft tall and has three 85 ft long blades. The wind farm was constructed from June 2003 to November 24, 2003. Mendota Hills was the first utility-scale wind farm in the state of Illinois.
Wind power in Ohio has a long history, and as of 2016, Ohio had 545 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale wind power installations installed, responsible for 1.1% of in-state electricity generated. Over 1000 MW more were under construction or pending approval. Some installations have become tourist attractions. There has been a sudden increase in generating capacity, as total wind power capacity in the state was just 9.7 MW in 2010. By 2019, there were 738 MW of capacity, which generated 1.71% of Ohio's electricity.
Making up over 62% of the state's generated electricity in 2022, wind power is the largest source of electricity generation in Iowa. In 2020, over 34 billion kWh of electrical energy was generated by wind power. As of 2022, Iowa has over 12,200 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity with over 6,000 wind turbines, ranking 2nd and 3rd in the nation below Texas respectively.
There are a number of wind power projects in the state of Maine, totaling more than 900 megawatts (MW) in capacity. In 2020 they were responsible for 24% of in-state electricity production. In 2019, Maine had more wind capacity than the other five New England states combined, at 923 MW.
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 September 2017, Indiana had a total of 1897 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.
Wind power in Michigan is a developing industry. The industrial base from the automotive industry has led to a number of companies producing wind turbine parts in the state. The development of wind farms in the state, however, has lagged behind. In January 2021, there were a total of 1,481 wind turbines in the state with a nameplate capacity of 2,549 MW. The nameplate total exceeded 2,000 MW when Pine River came online in March 2019. Wind provided 4.2% of the state's electricity in 2016.
The U.S. state of Connecticut has vast wind energy resources offshore as well as onshore although Connecticut was the last state in the United States to block the construction of utility scale wind turbines. Connecticut maintains a renewable portfolio standard that requires 21% of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020.
Wind power in Rhode Island is in the early stages of development. There are several small scale wind turbine projects in the state. As of December 2013 there were 11 turbines at 10 sites in the state. In 2014, Rhode Island had 9 MW of installed wind power capacity, which quickly rose to 75 MW in 2019.
The Rush Creek Wind Project is a 600 megawatt (MW) wind facility in eastern Colorado, located south of the town of Limon. It increased the wind generating capacity in the state by 20% when it came online in late 2018. The facility is financed, owned, and operated by Xcel Energy, the largest public utility in the state. The project was developed primarily for its numerous economic benefits since Xcel previously met the minimum 30% requirement of Colorado's 2020 renewable portfolio standard.
Ocean Wind is a proposed utility-scale 2,248 MW offshore wind farm to be located on the Outer Continental Shelf approximately 15 miles (24 km) off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is being developed by Ørsted US Offshore Wind in conjunction with Public Service Enterprise Group (PSE&G). Construction ) and commissioning are planned for the mid-2020s. The closed Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and B.L. England Generating Station would provide transmission points for energy generated by the wind farm. It will be the largest producer of wind power in New Jersey and largest offshore wind farm in the United States.
The Bright Stalk Wind Farm is a 57-turbine wind farm near Chenoa in northeastern McLean County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The turbines were designed to generate a maximum of 205 megawatts of electricity. The complex was completed in 2019 by EDP Renewables North America at a cost of more than $300 million, and entered operations in 2020.
The HillTopper Wind Farm is a 74-turbine wind farm near Mount Pulaski in southeastern Logan County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The turbines were designed to generate a maximum of 185 megawatts of electricity. The complex was completed by Enel Green Power at a cost of approximately $325 million, and entered operations in 2018.
The California Ridge Wind Farm is a 134-turbine wind farm in eastern Champaign County and western Vermilion County in Illinois. The project was developed by Invenergy, an energy holding company.
