Wind energy is on track to supply 20% of US electricity by 2030, up from 5% currently and about 10% in 2020, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
The AWEA said in its US Wind Industry Second Quarter 2016 Market Report that more than 18.2GW of wind power is under construction or in advanced stages of development in the country.
In the second quarter alone, major utilities announced plans to develop and own up to 2.6GW of new wind capacity, the association said.
AWEA said the 18.2GW includes more than 12.45GW under construction, with 3GW in new construction announcements during the second quarter, a 23% increase over the first quarter.
The state of Kansas topped new construction announcements in the quarter with 778MW, followed by Iowa at 551MW and North Dakota at 400MW.
AWEA chief executive officer Tom Kiernan said: “The industry is thriving thanks to policy stability and we appreciate support from champions in Congress for a multi-year extension of the PTC [Production Tax Credit].
“Wind power supports 88,000 well-paying jobs, and the wind turbine technician is the fastest growing profession in the US.
“This is what an efficient, performance-driven policy delivers – more low-cost clean energy and the American jobs that make it happen.”
The AWEA also said that utilities disclosed over 1.8GW of wind power purchase agreements in the quarter, the second highest volume of announcements in a single quarter since the beginning of 2014.
A total of 169 turbines across four states were installed during the second quarter, representing 310MW of capacity, AWEA said.
Some 200MW were installed in Texas, followed by Kansas with 72MW, Nebraska (36MW) and a single turbine installation in Iowa.
Year-to-date installations stand at 830MW, with the US now having total installed wind power capacity of 74.821GW, AWEA said.
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