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]
The following table compares the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Indiana and the entire United States from 2007 through 2019. [5] [6] [7]
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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 2024.
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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.
Source: [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
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. But 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.
Wind farm | County(s) | Coordinates | Turbine model | Power per turbine (MW) | No. of Turbines | Total Nameplate Capacity (MW) | Online | Developer | Operator | Power purchaser |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benton County phase I | Benton | 40°41′10″N87°24′29″W / 40.686°N 87.408°W | GE sl/sle Gen4 | 1.5 | 87 | 130.5 | 2008-04 | Orion Energy | Orion Energy | Duke, Vectren |
Black River | Gibson, Posey | 65 | (Proposed) | |||||||
Fowler Ridge phase I Vestas | Benton | 40°36′29″N87°19′12″W / 40.608°N 87.320°W | Vestas V82 | 1.65 | 182 | 300.3 | 2009-04 | BP, Dominion | BP, Dominion | AEP, Dominion |
Fowler Ridge phase I Clipper | Benton | 40°36′29″N87°19′12″W / 40.608°N 87.320°W | Clipper 2.5 | 2.5 | 40 | 100 | 2009-04 | BP, Dominion | BP, Dominion | AEP, Dominion |
Fowler Ridge phase II | Benton | 40°36′29″N87°19′12″W / 40.608°N 87.320°W | GE sl/sle Gen4 | 1.5 | 133 | 199.5 | 2009-12 | BP, Dominion | BP, Dominion | AEP, Vectren |
Headwaters | Randolph | Vestas V110 | 2 | 100 | 200 | December 2014 | EDP Renewables North America | EDP Renewables North America | Indiana Michigan Power | |
Hoosier | Benton | 40°36′N87°19′W / 40.6°N 87.32°W | REpower | 2 | 53 | 106 | 2009-08 | IPL, enXco | IPL, enXco | IPL |
Indiana Crossroads I | White | Vestas V150 | 4.2 | 72 | 302.4 | 2021-12 | EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO | EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO | ||
Indiana Crossroads II | White | Nordex N155 | 4.8 | 42 | 201.6 | 2023-12 | EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO | EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO | ||
Jordan Creek | Benton, Warren | GE 2.3, 2.52, 2.6, 2.82 | 2.3, 2.52, 2.6, 2.82 | 146 | 398.68 | 2020-12 | NextEra | NextEra | NIPSCO | |
Meadow Lake phase I | White | 40°36′04″N86°51′54″W / 40.601°N 86.865°W | Vestas V82 | 1.65 | 121 | 199.65 | October 2009 | Horizon Wind Energy | EDP Renewables North America | AEP, wholesale market |
Meadow Lake phase II | White | 40°36′04″N86°51′54″W / 40.601°N 86.865°W | Acciona | 1.5 | 66 | 99 | June 2010 | Horizon Wind Energy | EDP Renewables North America | |
Meadow Lake phase III | White | 40°36′04″N86°51′54″W / 40.601°N 86.865°W | GE | 1.5 | 69 | 103.5 | October 2010 | Horizon Wind Energy | EDP Renewables North America | |
Meadow Lake phase IV | White | 40°36′04″N86°51′54″W / 40.601°N 86.865°W | Suzlon | 2.1 | 47 | 98.7 | October 2010 | Horizon Wind Energy | EDP Renewables North America | |
Prairie Breeze | Tipton | 40°21′40″N86°09′07″W / 40.361°N 86.152°W | 1.6 | 94 | (Cancelled) [18] | Juwi | ||||
Rosewater | White | VestasV136 and V150 | 3.6 and 4.2 | 25 | 102 | November 2020 | NiSource | EDP Renewables North America/NIPSCO | NIPSCO | |
Union City/Randolph Eastern School Corporation | Randolph | 40°12′04″N84°48′54″W / 40.201°N 84.815°W | Nordic Windpower | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2010-02 | Performance Services | Union City, Randolph Eastern School Corporation | AEP |
Wildcat phase I | Madison, Tipton | 40°21′07″N85°52′55″W / 40.352°N 85.882°W | GE | 1.6 | 125 | 200 | 2012-10 | E.ON | E.ON | AEP |
Wildcat phase II | Grant, Howard | 40°28′48″N85°51′36″W / 40.480°N 85.860°W | 40-60 | (proposed) | E.ON | |||||
Wildcat phase III | Tipton | 40-75 | (proposed) | E.ON | ||||||
Wildcat phase IV | Tipton | (proposed) | E.ON | |||||||
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]
Location | County | Owner | Wind speed (m/s) | Power (Kw) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Akron | Kosciusko | Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation | 6.5 m/s (14.5 mph) | 900 |
Middletown | Henry | Shenandoah School Corporation | 900 | |
Carthage | Shelby | 7.7 / 99m | ||
Haubstadt | Gibson | South Gibson School Corporation | 6.1 / 99m | |
Kokomo | Howard | Northwestern School Corporation | 7.0 / 99m | |
LaGrange | LaGrange | 7.0 / 99m | ||
Francesville | Pulaski | West Central School Corporation | 6.9 | 900 |
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. [22]
For comparison, Indiana emitted a total of 1,883 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide in 2015. [23] [24]
As of March 2010 [update] Indiana lacked a renewable energy standard, unlike several other midwestern states: Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa. [25] Nevertheless, Indiana's wind power development had outpaced that of Ohio and Michigan.
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 1) utility, 2) state, and 3) federal.
Utility incentives target customers that have their own small wind energy systems (no greater than 1 MW). These incentives consist of 1) Net Metering and 2) 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 100 kW and $0.10/kWh for systems 100 kW-2MW. [26]
State-level incentives consist of the 1) Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption and 2) 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. [26]
Federal Incentives include 1) The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), 2) Business Energy Investment Tax Credit, and 3) 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 9/18/2017, is only available to large wind turbines (greater than 100 kW in capacity) and will expire 12/31/2019. The credit is currently 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 100 kW). As of 9/18/2017, the tax credit is at 30% with no max. This credit will also expire 12/31/2019. [26]
Spain is one of the countries with the largest wind power capacity installed, with over 27 GW in 2020. In 2013, it had become the first country in the world to have wind power as its main source of energy.
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.
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.
China is the world leader in wind power generation, with the largest installed capacity of any nation and continued rapid growth in new wind facilities. With its large land mass and long coastline, China has exceptional wind power resources: Wind power remained China's third-largest source of electricity at the end of 2021, accounting for 7.5% of total power generation.
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 second and third 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.
Solar power includes solar farms as well as local distributed generation, mostly on rooftops and increasingly from community solar arrays. In 2023, utility-scale solar power generated 164.5 terawatt-hours (TWh), or 3.9% of electricity in the United States. Total solar generation that year, including estimated small-scale photovoltaic generation, was 238 TWh.
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.
At the end of 2015, the installed capacity of wind power in Washington was 3,075 megawatts (MW) with wind power accounting for 7,101 GWh. In 2016, it reached a generation of 8,041 GWh, comprising 7.1% of the electricity generated in the state. In 2023, it had a capacity of 3,407 MW, responsible for 7.75% of generation.
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.
New York has 2,192 MW of installed wind power capacity as of 2022. Most of New York's wind power is located in upstate New York as onshore wind farms. New York has set a goal of developing 9,000 MW of offshore installed wind power capacity by 2035 that will power an estimated 6 million homes. As of October 2022, New York has five offshore wind farms in development with approximately 4,300 MW installed capacity.
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.
In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, wind power is one of the primary sources of renewable energy, and accounts for over one third of the state's renewable energy production. There are more than 27 wind farms currently operating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Theoretically, the energetic development of these wind farms could provide power for nearly 350,000 homes, or 1,300 megawatts. A majority of the 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. Despite being one of the few landlocked states in the Mid-Atlantic region, Pennsylvania is close to several offshore sites along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Modern United States wind energy policy coincided with the beginning of modern wind industry of the United States, which began in the early 1980s with the arrival of utility-scale wind turbines in California at the Altamont Pass wind farm. Since then, the industry has had to endure the financial uncertainties caused by a highly fluctuating tax incentive program. Because these early wind projects were fueled by investment tax credits based on installation rather than performance, they were plagued with issues of low productivity and equipment reliability. Those investment tax credits expired in 1986, which forced investors to focus on improving the reliability and efficiency of their turbines. The 1990s saw rise to a new type of tax credit, the production tax credit, which propelled technological improvements to the wind turbine even further by encouraging investors to focus on electricity output rather than installation.
Solar power in Florida has been increasing, as the cost of solar power systems using photovoltaics (PV) has decreased in recent years. Florida has low electricity costs compared with other states, which makes individual solar investment less attractive. Florida ranks ninth nationally in solar resource strength according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and tenth in solar generation by the Solar Energy Industries Association.
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 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.
Wind power in Hawaii is produced by the state's 132 commercial wind turbines, totaling 236 MW in capacity. In 2015, wind turbines produced 6.4% of Hawaii's electricity. In 2012, Hawaii generated 367 million kWh from wind power.