United States added largest wind power capacity in 2020

Last year, 42% of new electricity generating capacity in the United States came from onshore wind power – more than from any other source – according to figures in a series of Department of Energy reports (DOE) this week. In contrast, solar represented only 38% of new capacity last year.

This measures capacity, which is the maximum amount of electricity that can be produced under ideal conditions, while the actual power output can be much less than this ideal amount when the wind varies.

Although the capacity and production of electricity from wind can vary from region to region, onshore wind is now a powerful intermittent power source in the United States. electrical capacity was added to the US energy infrastructure in 2020, representing an estimated $ 24.6 billion investment in new wind power.

Last year, the DOE noted, wind power was able to provide more than half of the state’s electricity production and sales in a few states. Iowa leads the pack with wind power supplying 57% of its electricity generation in the state. However, Iowa has a lot of wind turbines and not a very large population.

More generally, wind is used to generate electricity for the power industry during fall and spring nights, and the winter season. (Along the Texas Gulf Coast, wind power appears in the late afternoon or early evening during the summer.)

The growth in onshore wind power in the United States last year was due in part to production tax credits that are about to be phased out, encouraging development ahead of that event horizon.

Improvements in wind technology have also helped encourage onshore wind development. Compared to older wind turbines, the latest models feature taller towers with longer blades that can produce more power when reaching stronger winds.

In addition to onshore wind farms, a myriad of offshore wind developments are underway nationwide. But last year, offshore wind farms were still not operational in most of the United States.

The 2021 DOE Offshore Wind Market Report instead focuses on the “pipeline” of offshore initiatives. In 2020, the offshore gas pipeline “reached a potential generation capacity of 35,324 megawatts (MW)”, an increase of 24% from the previous year, according to this report.

The Block Island Wind Farm off Rhode Island and the Virginia Coastal Wind Pilot Project (off Virginia Beach) are the first two offshore wind farms to become operational in the United States. Another project, Vineyard Wind 1, south of Nantucket, Mass. has received all the permits and signed contracts to sell its electricity and deliver it to the grid.

There are 15 other offshore wind projects in the pipeline that have reached the authorization phase, and seven wind power zones that can be leased at the discretion of the federal government in the future, according to the DOE report.

The Biden administration wants to expand U.S. offshore wind capacity to 30 gigawatts by 2030 as part of its goal of achieving a carbon-free energy sector by 2035.

Other forms of clean energy will be needed, in addition to all forms of wind power, to meet the demand for electricity in the United States while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.