Wind business booming with construction and advanced pipeline

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2017 - The roster of U.S. wind projects under construction and in advanced development as of the end of the third quarter of 2017 reached 29,634 megawatts (MW), the highest level since the statistic was first measured at the beginning of 2016, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). “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,” said Tom Kiernan, CEO of AWEA. The combined 29,634 MW of wind capacity includes 13,759 MW under construction and 15,875 MW in advanced development, defined as not yet under construction, but having signed a power purchase agreement. Utilities made large-scale announcements to develop and own wind power during the third quarter, including American Electric Power’s 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.