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 (phase I) 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.[1] Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.[2]
The main utility-scale development up to 2016 has been in the northwest part of the state in Benton, White, and Jasper Counties. As of May 2017, Fowler Ridge Wind Farm was completed and has a final nameplate capacity of 750 MW, making it the Midwest's largest wind farm, and one of the largest in the world. Wind energy growth in Indiana continues, with 15 projects currently online, continually increasing the total installed capacity of the state.[3][4]
Average annual wind power density map for Indiana at 50m above ground
As of 2017 the state of Indiana ranks 12th in installed wind capacity and number of wind turbines with 1,897 MW and 1,096 turbines, respectively. Together, these yield 4.82% of the total in-state electricity production (~4,368,000 MWh or enough to power ~453,000 homes).[8][3] To put this number into perspective, Indiana consumed 104.514 TWh of electricity in 2015. However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory predicts wind energy growth in Indiana, stating the wind potential (from turbines with an 80 m hub height) could reach levels upwards of 40,259 MW by 2030. This predicted potential growth is starting to materialize now, with 15 wind projects currently online in the state.[3]
Indiana also has some offshore wind resources in the shallows of Lake Michigan along its shoreline.[9][10][11] However, offshore wind power development is far behind onshore development in the United States generally, because onshore development is cheaper and the United States has an abundance of suitable onshore sites to develop. Indiana has no offshore wind farms as of 2025.
Wind generation
Indiana wind generation in 2015
Indiana wind generation (GWh, million kWh)
Year
Total
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2008
239
26
27
18
14
17
37
43
57
2009
1,404
49
109
133
161
94
69
43
64
45
145
220
272
2010
2,935
271
187
225
316
221
157
119
91
246
342
396
364
2011
3,286
315
390
377
429
270
203
82
83
164
246
432
295
2012
3,211
416
307
374
386
212
184
113
94
162
328
242
394
2013
3,481
450
276
334
396
303
184
138
92
155
297
449
405
2014
3,495
415
252
323
388
304
190
167
101
158
325
507
366
2015
4,516
411
413
424
425
365
272
176
165
214
517
554
580
2016
4,898
656
572
510
451
402
279
164
148
241
460
477
538
2017
5,090
476
484
521
515
429
349
179
171
228
523
587
628
2018
5,438
768
512
617
465
423
276
223
260
272
518
508
596
2019
6,217
663
594
649
712
498
427
260
232
346
562
545
729
2020
6,287
632
596
651
633
505
366
194
162
357
581
800
810
2021
7,899
661
722
894
723
588
576
350
360
660
621
807
937
2022
9,767
956
1,023
1,037
1,012
854
554
469
416
504
909
1,054
979
2023
2,976
905
969
1,102
Teal background indicates the largest wind generation month for the year.
Green background indicates the largest wind generation month to date.
As this graph indicates, Indiana generally tends to have more steady wind from fall to spring months, evidenced by the fact that even in southern Indiana, wind chill is a common factor of outside conditions. October and November, for example, often see large variances in temperature, causing more days of strong gusty winds, thereby generating more wind electricity production. The same happens in March and April. However, often in the summer months, the air tends to stagnate, resulting in less wind electricity production.
The following table of wind farms and utility-scale wind power developments uses data from the AWEA,[5] the State of Indiana,[17] and other sources. For the larger projects constructed in phases, the table lists separate information for each phase. The name of each wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm. The "Wind Farm" suffix is implied and hence removed for brevity. For more details and references for each wind farm, see its article.
In addition to the above wind farms, single stand-alone units have also been built in multiple other locations, mostly at schools. Some of these units were placed to test the environment for future wind energy development.[19][20][21]
According to the USDOE, each 1000 MW of wind power capacity installed in Indiana will annually save 1,684 million gallons of water and eliminate 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.[23]
For comparison, Indiana emitted a total of 1,883lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide in 2015.[24][25]
As of March2010[update] Indiana lacked a renewable energy standard, unlike several other midwestern states: Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa.[26] Nevertheless, Indiana's wind power development had outpaced that of Ohio and Michigan.
Government policies and initiatives
The Indiana State government, along with the Federal Government, has put many incentives in place for the use of wind energy. The three main categories of incentives are utility, state, and federal.
Utility
Utility incentives target customers that have their own small wind energy systems (no greater than 1 MW). These incentives consist of net metering and feed-in tariff (FIT) incentives. Net metering allows the utility company to track the energy the wind system produces and customers can then use that energy as a credit on their bills. The FIT program, only adopted by the utility company Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), pays their customers per kWh of energy produced by their wind turbine, opposed to offering a credit. Currently NIPSCO mandates a rate of $0.17/kWh for systems less than or equal to 100kW and $0.10/kWh for systems 100kW-2MW.[27]
State
State-level incentives consist of the Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption and Indiana Sales Tax Incentive for Electrical Generating Equipment. The renewable energy exemption states that the assessed value of any wind system installed after December 31, 2011 is eligible for property tax exemption pending the completion of state form 18865. The sales tax incentive states that the equipment used to produce renewable electricity are eligible for a sales tax exemption. The state of Indiana also implemented a voluntary Clean Energy Portfolio Standard (CPS) in May 2011. The CPS set a goal for the state to have 10% of its electric generation come from clean energy by 2025.[27]
Federal
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2024)
Federal incentives include the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Business Energy Investment Tax Credit, and Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit. The REAP program provides grants to agricultural producers and rural businesses for projects that yield more energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Business Energy Tax Credit, as of September 18, 2017, is only available to large wind turbines (greater than 100kW in capacity) and was set to expire on December 31, 2019. The credit is currently[when?] at a rate of 24% of invested expenditures with no credit cap. The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit is similar to the Business Investment credit except only small turbines qualify (cannot exceed 100kW). As of September 18,2017, the tax credit was at 30% with no max. This credit was also set to expire on December 31, 2019.[27]
↑ "Indiana Wind Energy"(PDF). U.S. Wind Energy State Facts. American Wind Energy Association. Archived from the original(PDF) on June 1, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
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