The USA’s wind industry has reported that 29 634 MW of generation capacity was under construction or in advanced development at the end of the third quarter of 2017, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s 'US Wind Industry Third Quarter 2017 Market Report' released in October. The 29 634 MW is spread across 149 projects in 32 states. An additional 3040 MW of planned wind capacity was announced during Q3, and 1337 MW in power purchase agreements were signed.
“The high level of wind under construction and in advanced development shows we are on track to deliver 10 % of America’s electricity by 2020, along with $85 billion in economic activity and 50 000 new jobs,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA, in an AWEA release.
Project developers installed 534 MW during the third quarter, bringing year-to-date installations to 2892 MW; there is now 84 944 MW of installed wind capacity in the United States, according to the report. Three companies were responsible for 98% of these installations – GE Renewable Energy, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, and Vestas.
Other highlights of the analysis include:
• Corporate customers represent 62% of total project capacity contracted during the third quarter (823 MW). Non-utility customers have signed more than 6460 MW of PPAs to date;
• Four states commissioned a total of five projects (534 MW) during the third quarter. Texas led with 402 MW, followed by Indiana (100 MW), New Mexico (30 MW), and California (2 MW);
• Texas continues to lead with 21450 MW of installed capacity, more than triple the installed capacity of any other state. But Illinois leads the country in with new construction activity, with 212 MW, followed by Oregon (202 MW) and Texas (148 MW).
