Report examines wind turbine use, capacity

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said statistics have determined Texas ranks first among states with 13,000 wind turbines and the most installed wind capacity at 24.2 gigawatts (GW).

The EIA’s Annual Electric Generator Inventory maintains the beginning of 2019 witnessed 41 states had at least one installed wind turbine, and as wind technology has advanced, turbines have grown larger and the capacity of individual turbines has increased with size.

The analysis showed that states where wind adoption occurred early have a high number of turbines relative to their wind generation capacity compared with states where wind was adopted later, such as Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois.

The breakdown also revealed the earliest functioning wind turbines were installed in California in July 1975. However, despite having the second most installed wind turbines, California accounts for only 6.1 GW of total installed capacity, which places it fourth among states.

From a historical perspective, the report noted wind turbine hub heights have increased over time because turbine blades have gotten longer and turbines with longer blades and a greater rotor diameter typically have higher nameplate capacity.

States such as California or Tennessee historically have older turbines, are shorter in height, and have shorter blades than newer turbines, which have higher hub heights to accommodate longer blades.