The US wind industry installed over 1,800MW of new wind power capacity in the first quarter, while the volume of projects under construction set a new record, according to the newly released Wind Powers America First Quarter Report 2020.
The American Wind Energy Association’s (AWEA) report reveals that U.S. project developers installed more than double the amount of wind capacity in the first three months of 2020 than in the first quarter of 2019. Developers also started construction on 4,124MW of wind power, bringing total construction activity to 24,690MW.
Texas led the country with 540MW of new wind projects installed, followed by Iowa, Illinois, and South Dakota. There are now 107,443MW of operating wind power capacity in the United States, with nearly 60,000 wind turbines operating in 41 states and two U.S. territories.
Construction activity reached a new record in the first quarter of 2020, with 24,690MW under construction across the country. That marks an 11 percent increase from the previous quarter. An additional 19,751MW are in advanced development, including 8,296MW of offshore wind. The near-term project pipeline now totals 44,441MW, a 14 percent increase from one year ago. Federal waters now host 8,275MW of the pipeline, followed by Texas with 7,060MW, Wyoming with 4,599MW, and Oklahoma at 3,485MW.
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing significant challenges to the U.S. wind industry. According to AWEA analysis, COVID-19 is putting an estimated 25GW of planned wind projects at risk, representing US$ 35 billion in investment.