Wind power in Idaho could generate more energy than the state uses.
Wind power in Idaho could generate more energy than the state uses.
At the end of 2016, Idaho had 973 MW of wind power generating capacity installed, accounting for over 15% of its generated electricity. [1]
| Idaho Wind Generation by Year | Idaho Wind Generation Capacity by Year |
|---|---|
 |  |
| Thousands of megawatt-hours Generated [2] [3] | Megawatts of Wind Capacity [4] |
Idaho could potentially install 18,000 MW of wind power, capable of generating 52,000 million kWh/year according to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. [5] Idaho used 23,063 million kWh in 2016 [6]
The 125 MW Goshen Wind Farm has been the state's largest wind facility since year 2010. [7]
| Idaho Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2006 | 169 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 14 |
| 2007 | 171 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 14 |
| 2008 | 209 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 25 |
| 2009 | 315 | 30 | 23 | 32 | 29 | 23 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 33 | 34 | 38 |
| 2010 | 442 | 26 | 20 | 28 | 33 | 34 | 26 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 57 | 69 | 78 |
| 2011 | 1,306 | 52 | 101 | 158 | 134 | 113 | 123 | 106 | 81 | 65 | 122 | 143 | 108 |
| 2012 | 1,891 | 169 | 110 | 200 | 132 | 134 | 127 | 104 | 116 | 93 | 160 | 180 | 366 |
| 2013 | 2,459 | 154 | 216 | 239 | 294 | 207 | 183 | 174 | 185 | 227 | 172 | 243 | 165 |
| 2014 | 2,806 | 206 | 326 | 301 | 294 | 205 | 240 | 186 | 131 | 192 | 238 | 265 | 222 |
| 2015 | 2,272 | 122 | 207 | 235 | 223 | 152 | 141 | 148 | 168 | 191 | 182 | 225 | 278 |
| 2016 | 2,577 | 224 | 251 | 293 | 248 | 193 | 202 | 216 | 151 | 99 | 167 | 234 | 299 |
| 2017 | 2,546 | 236 | 231 | 243 | 241 | 231 | 174 | 144 | 156 | 162 | 245 | 234 | 249 |
| 2018 | 2,655 | 234 | 217 | 274 | 277 | 206 | 228 | 182 | 188 | 192 | 202 | 222 | 233 |
| 2019 | 2,550 | 219 | 217 | 215 | 231 | 213 | 192 | 197 | 178 | 226 | 219 | 222 | 221 |
| 2020 | 2,770 | 269 | 323 | 232 | 226 | 243 | 233 | 190 | 187 | 150 | 234 | 254 | 229 |
| 2021 | 2,656 | 224 | 232 | 286 | 258 | 228 | 180 | 142 | 165 | 194 | 216 | 257 | 274 |
| 2022 | 2,887 | 278 | 283 | 297 | 300 | 250 | 191 | 156 | 149 | 183 | 234 | 295 | 271 |
| 2023 | 819 | 237 | 290 | 292 | |||||||||
Teal background indicates the largest wind generation month for the year.
Green background indicates the largest wind generation month to date.
Source: [2]
 |
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.
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.
According to preliminary data from the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy accounted for about 12.6% of total primary energy consumption and about 19.8% of the domestically produced electricity in the United States in 2020.
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.
The U.S. state of Oregon has large wind energy resources. Many projects have been completed, most of them in rural Eastern Oregon and near the Columbia River Gorge. Wind power accounted for 12.1% of the electricity generated in Oregon in 2016.
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 Montana is a growing industry. Montana had over 695 MW of wind generation capability by 2016, responsible for 7.6% of in-state electricity generation.
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 Pennsylvania, one of the major source of renewable energy, it accounts for over one third of the renewable energy production of Pennsylvania. There are more than 27 wind farms currently installed in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These 27 farms on average could provide power for nearly 350,000 homes or 1,300 megawatts. A majority of these wind farms are located in the southwest-central and northeastern regions of the state. Pennsylvania is an East Coast leader in wind energy due to its natural wind resources and governmental incentives brought on by the state. There is a lot of potential for growth within the wind power industry in Pennsylvania and the Northeast. Pennsylvania is close to several offshore sites along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
In 2016, Arizona had 268 megawatts (MW) of wind powered electricity generating capacity, producing 0.5% of in-state generated electricity.
In the U.S. State of Kansas, wind power is the largest source of electricity, generating over 41% of the state's electricity in 2019. Kansas has a high potential capacity for wind power, second behind Texas. The most recent estimates (2012) are that Kansas has a potential for 952 GW of wind power capacity yet had only about 5.6 GW installed by year end 2018. Kansas could generate 3,102 TW·h of electricity each year, which represents over 75% of all the electricity generated in the United States in 2011. This electricity could be worth $290 billion per year.
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.
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 state of South Dakota is a leader in the U.S. in wind power generation with over 30% of the state's electricity generation coming from wind in 2017. In 2016, South Dakota had 583 turbines with a total capacity of 977 megawatts (MW) of wind generation capacity. In 2019, the capacity increased to 1525 MW.
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 Hawaii has the potential to provide all of the electricity generation in the electricity sector in Hawaii. The 132 commercial wind turbines in the state have a total capacity of 236 MW. In 2015, wind turbines produced 6.4% of Hawaii's electricity. In 2012, Hawaii generated 367 million kWh from wind power.
Wind power in Alaska has the potential to provide all of the electricity used in the U.S. state of Alaska. From its installation, in July 2009 through October 2012, the Pillar Mountain Wind 4.5 MW wind farm has saved the use of nearly 3,000,000 US gallons (11,000,000 L) of diesel fuel in Kodiak, Alaska.
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| Wind power by state |
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| Large wind farms | ||
| Offshore wind farms |
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| Wind power companies | ||
