Number of wind projects in progress reaches record high in third quarter 2017

Wind projects under construction and in advanced development at the end of the third quarter of 2017 has reached a total of 29,634 megawatts (MW), the highest level since the statistic was first measured at the beginning of 2016, according to a newly-released market report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

“Wind power’s value to investors, utilities, and corporate purchasers is clear: fixed-cost clean energy at competitive prices,” AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan said. “The high level of wind under construction and in advanced development shows we are on track to deliver 10 percent of America’s electricity by 2020, along with $85 billion in economic activity and 50,000 new jobs.”

The report found that year-over-year construction and advanced development activity was up 27 percent. Further, new third quarter activity represented 4,248 MW of capacity entering advanced development while 638 MW was beginning construction.

Throughout the quarter, a number of utilities made large-scale announcements to develop and own wind power, including American Electric Power’s (AEP) 2,000 MW Wind Catcher project in Oklahoma, Alliant Energy’s 500 MW New Wind II project in Iowa, and Xcel Energy’s 300 MW Dakota Range I and II in South Dakota.

“There’s a rebalancing of the generation resources, not only in our company but in this country, that’s going on,” AEP CEO Nick Atkins said. “This project is consistent with our strategy of investing in the energy resources of the future, and it will save our customers money while providing economic benefits to communities.”