Wind dominates US new power in 2015

UNITED STATES: More wind was installed than any other power source, and jobs have increased by 20% in a year, reports the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

by Ros Davidson 14 April 2016

Wind represented 41% of all new capacity coming online, according to AWEA's annual report

Wind represented 41% of all new capacity coming online, ahead of solar (28.5%) and natural gas (28.1%), according to AWEA's 2015 annual report.

The industry supported a record 88,000 jobs at the start of 2016 — an increase of 20% in a year — primarily because of more development and construction.

Of the jobs, 21,000 were in manufacturing, up more than 10% over the previous year.

The US installed 8,598MW of projects in 2015, said AWEA. An additional 9.4GW of wind capacity was under construction as of the start of 2016, and another 4.9GW in advanced stages of development.

US wind has attracted $128 billion in new project investment in the last decade. Texas had most capital investment, at more than $32.7 billion.

Next came California (over $11.9 billion), Iowa ($11.8 billion), Oklahoma ($9.6 billion) and Illinois ($7.7 billion), said the report.

Congress passed a five-year extension of the production tax credit and alternative investment tax credit late last year.