Wind generators account for 8% of electricity generation capacity

Wind turbines provide 8% of electricity generating capacity in the United States, more than any other renewable source including hydroelectricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Turbines comprised of “more than one-third of the nearly 200 gigawatts of utility-scale electricity generating capacity added since 2007.”

The rise in wind development “reflects a combination of improved wind turbine technology, increased access to transmission capacity, state-level renewable portfolio standards, and federal production tax credits and grants,” according to the EIA. “More than half of U.S. wind capacity is located in five states: Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, California and Kansas.” In Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma, wind turbines account for at least 25% of utility-scale generating capacity in those states.

Nine states, including Arkansas, had no utility-scale wind facilities as of December 2016, according to the EIA. “Texas alone accounts for almost a quarter of total U.S. wind capacity, and electricity generated by these turbines made up 13% of Texas’ total electricity output in 2016.” At windy times, wind can provide for more electricity generation. On March 23, “wind output on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid in Texas accounted for up to 50% of the electricity generation mix, the highest wind penetration level seen in the ERCOT electric system to date.”

Though wind turbines account for 8% of total generating capacity in the United States, they only provided 5% of total U.S. electricity because they run at low capacity, on average, between 25% and 40%.