A wind farm shares space with the cornfields the day before the Iowa groups, where agriculture and clean energy are key issues, in Latimer, Iowa, on February 2, 2020.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Last year, 42% of new electricity generation capacity in the U.S. came from onshore wind power, more than any other source, according to a series of Department of Energy reports ( DOE) this week. In contrast, solar energy accounted for only 38% of last year’s new capacity.
This measures capacity, which is the maximum amount of electricity that can be produced under ideal conditions, while actual power generation can be much less than the ideal amount as wind varies.
Although both capacity and wind power generation may vary regionally, terrestrial wind is now a strong and intermittent source of energy throughout the United States. According to research by the DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 16,836 megawatts of new onshore wind energy are being recorded. energy capacity was added to the US energy infrastructure in 2020, resulting in an investment of about $ 24.6 billion in new wind energy.
Last year, the DOE noted, wind power was able to provide more than half of the state’s electricity generation and sales in some states. Iowa led the wind power package providing 57% of its electricity generation to the state. Still, Iowa has a lot of wind turbines and doesn’t have a very large population.
More typically, wind is used to generate electricity for the electric power industry during the fall and spring nights and the winter season. (Along the Gulf Coast in Texas, wind power appears in the afternoon or evening during the summer).
Growth of onshore wind power in the United States last year was driven in part by production tax credits that are poised for phasing out, encouraging development ahead of this event horizon.
Improvements in wind technology also helped foster onshore wind development. Compared to older wind turbines, the latest models feature taller towers with longer blades that can produce more energy when reaching higher winds.
In addition to onshore wind farms, countless offshore wind developments are underway nationwide. But last year, offshore wind farms were not yet operational in most of the US
The DOE’s 2021 Offshore Wind Market Report focuses on the “pipeline” of offshore initiatives. In 2020, the offshore pipeline “grew to a potential generation capacity of 35,324 megawatts (MW),” 24% more than the previous year, according to this report.
Block Island Wind Farm, near Rhode Island, and the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind pilot project (off the coast of Virginia Beach) are the first two offshore wind farms to come into operation in the U.S. Another project, Vineyard Wind 1, in south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, has received all permits and has closed contracts to sell its energy and deliver it to the grid.
There are another 15 ongoing offshore wind projects that have reached the permit 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, along with all forms of wind power, will be needed to meet U.S. electricity demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.