US Wind Industry Installs 2.8 GW in First Quarter

“These brand new wind projects shine a ray of hope on our economy today, creating good jobs and powering homes with a clean, inexhaustible source of energy," said Denise Bode, AWEA's CEO. “But the nation still lacks the long-term signal that is needed to build up renewable energy on large scale.  The time is now for a national renewable electricity standard (RES), a policy that over 80% of Americans favor and for which they voted: President Obama’s campaign position of generating 25% of our electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 will help revitalize our economy and protect consumers when they need it the most: when the price of the fuels used for electricity generation goes up.”

The new wind power projects add up to 2,836 MW, according to initial AWEA estimates. The total wind power generating capacity in operation in the U.S. is now 28,206 MW. 

In state news, Kansas and New York now have over 1,000 MW of wind power generating capacity – boosting the wind power gigawatt state club to nine:

• Texas  7,907 MW
• Iowa  2,883 MW
• California 2,653 MW
• Minnesota 1,804 MW
• Washington 1,479 MW
• Oregon 1,363 MW
• New York 1,261 MW
• Colorado 1,068 MW
• Kansas 1,014 MW

Indiana keeps its title as fastest growing state with the large 400.3-MW project that was brought online. States tallying the most rapid growth in wind capacity in the first quarter include:

• Indiana 75%
• Maine 55%
• Nebraska 53%
• Idaho 49%
• New York 34%                                                                      

Click here to download the full report.

AWEA will be hold its WINDPOWER 2009 Conference and Expo next week in Chicago and RenewableEnergyWorld.com will be there to bring you all the news coming out of the conference and to speak with industry leaders about trends and developments in wind energy. Check back with us in the coming days for video, podcasts and news items from the show.