Solar energy might get all the press, but wind energy is the fastest growing renewable source in the US. The wind energy industry currently employs over 100,000 men and women and has seen a 9% growth in employment over last year.
Many people are unaware of how much wind energy their state produces and how much of the total energy generation is from wind energy. Below is a graph detailing the wind energy share of total electricity generation in each state.
You can see that while Texas leads the United States in total wind energy generation, other states have a larger portion of their total electricity generation come from wind energy. South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma all generate over 30% of their energy from wind.
“American wind power reached new heights for energy generated and US jobs in 2017. And don’t be surprised when the industry continues to break records,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA. “Wind is competitively priced, reliable, and clean – a winning combination that’s creating economic growth in all 50 states.”
7,017 megawatts (MW) of capacity were installed in the US in 2017, bringing the final total to just under 89,000MW. There are over 54,000 turbines across the country that are able to power around 27 million households. Globally, this figure puts the US comfortably in second place ahead of Germany which has built 56,100MW. China dominates worldwide installations on 188,200MW.
In total, US wind power helped generate a record 6.3 percent of US electricity in 2017, up from 5.5 percent on the year before. And four states went much further with over 30 percent of their electricity coming from wind: Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. 14 additional states generated more than 10 percent from turbines. All renewables combined provide 18 percent of US electricity.