US wind accounts for 4% of energy for first time

UNITED STATES: Wind power accounted for more than 4% of the energy on the US grid last year, the first time this milestone has been breached.

by Patrick Smith 7 March 2014

Intallations dropped significantly in 2013, but are expected to increase this year

However, the distribution of wind power across states varied greatly, with some states well ahead of others.

The American Wind Energy Association (AEWA) said that figures from the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration showed that wind power exceeded 25% of total electricity production in Iowa and South Dakota, while other states still have no installed capacity.

Over the past five years, wind power installations accounted for 30% of all new capacity added in the US, AWEA said.

Texas, the state with the largest installed wind capacity, generated the most electricity from wind energy, with more than 35.9 million megawatt hours fed into the grid.

After a lean year in 2013, with only 1.1GW installed, the wind energy industry started 2014 with a record 12GW of wind capacity under construction.