Demand drives US wind power development to new heights in first quarter of 2018 according to the U.S. Wind Industry First Quarter 2018 Market Report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Wind energy customers signed over 3,500MW in long-term contracts called power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the first quarter. That’s the highest volume of PPA announcements in any quarter since AWEA began tracking them in 2013.
Six companies including Adobe, AT&T and Nestle signed wind PPAs for the first time, while Bloomberg, Facebook, Nike and T-Mobile became repeat customers. In addition, utility buyers including PacifiCorp and DTE Energy made large-scale announcements to develop and own wind power.
Across the country, 36 wind projects representing a combined 5,523MW announced that they either began construction or entered advanced development in the first quarter. Construction started on 1,366MW of wind capacity and 4,158MW entered advanced stages of development, which includes projects that have found a buyer for their energy, announced a firm turbine order, or have been announced to proceed under utility ownership. The full pipeline of wind farms under construction or in advanced development now totals 33,449MW, a 40 percent increase over this time last year and the highest level since this statistic was first measured at the beginning of 2016.
Seven new wind farms came online across seven states in the quarter, totaling 406MW. In total, there are now 89,379MW of installed wind capacity in the United States. That’s more than 54,000 wind turbines operating in 41 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico.
Across the country, 36 wind projects representing a combined 5,523MW announced that they either began construction or entered advanced development in the first quarter. Construction started on 1,366MW of wind capacity and 4,158MW entered advanced stages of development, which includes projects that have found a buyer for their energy, announced a firm turbine order, or have been announced to proceed under utility ownership. The full pipeline of wind farms under construction or in advanced development now totals 33,449MW, a 40 percent increase over this time last year and the highest level since this statistic was first measured at the beginning of 2016.
Seven new wind farms came online across seven states in the quarter, totaling 406MW. In total, there are now 89,379MW of installed wind capacity in the United States. That’s more than 54,000 wind turbines operating in 41 states plus Guam and Puerto Rico.