From Green Right Now Reports
Turbines spin on the Texas Panhandle (Photo: Sandia National Laboratories)
The 9,922 new megawatts (MW) installed in the U.S. last year expanded the nation’s wind plant fleet by 39 percent and brought the total wind power generating capacity in the U.S to over 35,000 MW, according to the American Wind Energy Association. U.S. wind projects now generate enough to power the equivalent of 9.7 million homes.
America’s wind power industry will avoid an estimated 62 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 10.5 million cars off the road, and will conserve approximately 20 billion gallons of water annually, which would otherwise be consumed for steam or cooling in conventional power plants.
Based on AWEA data, you can only conclude that Texas blows. A lot. The state dwarfs all others with 9,410 of installed wind power. But in 2009, Washington pulled ahead of Minnesota in the ranking of the top five states by wind power installed (in MW):
- Texas — 9,410
- Iowa — 3,670
- California — 2,794
- Washington — 1,980
- Minnesota — 1,809
Source: American Wind Energy Association