The U.S. wind energy industry had its strongest year ever in 2012, says the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), installing a record 13,124 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity, leveraging $25 billion in private investment, and achieving over 60,000 MW of cumulative wind capacity.
The milestone of 60,000 MW (60 gigawatts) was reached just five months after AWEA announced last August that the U.S. industry had 50,000 MW installed.
Today’s 60,007 MW is enough clean, affordable, American wind power to power the equivalent of almost 15 million homes, or the number of homes in Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Ohio combined.
In this historic year of achievement, wind energy for the first time became the number one source of new U.S. electric generating capacity, providing some 42 percent of all new generating capacity. In fact, 2012 was a strong year for all renewables, as together they accounted for over 55 percent of all new U.S. generating capacity.
Resulting from 190 projects across 32 states plus Puerto Rico, this new record for annual installations of over 13,000 MW by the U.S. industry far surpasses the previous record of 10,000 MW installed in 2010.
“It is a real testament to American innovation and hard work that for the first time ever a renewable energy source was number one in new capacity,” said AWEA Interim CEO Rob Gramlich. “We are thrilled to mark this major milestone in the nation’s progress toward a cleaner energy system.”
In last year’s fourth quarter alone, 8,380 MW were installed, making it the strongest quarter ever in U.S. wind power history. This was due in large part to impending expiration of the successful federal Production Tax Credit (PTC). It was slated to end on December 31, 2012, but was extended by Congress on January 1, 2013, as part of the “fiscal cliff package,” the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
Gramlich added: “What is just as striking as the new records is the expansion of new customers. A total of 66 utilities bought or owned wind power in 2012, up from 42 in 2011. We are also seeing growth in new customers in the industrial and commercial sectors purchasing or owning wind energy directly.”
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