America’s wind power workforce installed 908 utility-scale turbines in the first quarter of 2017, totaling 2,000MW of capacity. This is the wind industry’s strongest start in eight years, according to a new report released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The industry is now in year 3 of a 5-year phase-down of the Production Tax Credit, and Navigant Consulting recently forecast a strong 2017 for wind power, similar to 2015 and 2016.
New wind turbine installations in the first quarter spanned the USA from Rhode Island and North Carolina to Oregon and Hawaii. Great Plains states Texas (724MW), and Kansas (481MW), led the pack. Texas continues as the overall national leader for wind power capacity, with 21,000MW installed. North Carolina became the 41st state to harness wind power, bringing online the first wind farm to be built in the Southeast in 12 years. With 4,466MW in new construction and advanced development announcements recorded in the first quarter, the near-term pipeline has reached 20,977MW of wind capacity.
