The United States now has more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of wind installed after it connected some 9.1GW of new projects to the grid last year.
Total US capacity now stands at 105GW, with 2019 additions representing 39 per cent of all utility scale power additions to the grid nationally.
The figures, published in an annual report by US wind association American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), show wind is the largest provider of renewable energy in the country, supplying more than seven per cent of the nation’s electricity last year.
“Years of hard work culminated with wind power becoming America’s largest renewable energy provider in 2019, with a 50-state footprint of job creation and economic development,” said AWEA chief executive Tom Kiernan.
Last year, wind capacity grew by 9.6 per cent nationally, spurred on by strong additions in the states of Texas and Iowa.
In total, developers delivered 55 wind projects in 19 states during 2019.
Research shows the US wind industry now supports a record 120,000 jobs, 530 domestic factories and rakes in US$1.6 billion a year for local states and communities, AWEA said.
“US wind power has grown significantly over the past decade, as consumers across the country increasingly turn to wind to provide affordable, reliable and clean electricity for their communities,” Mr Kiernan said.
Last year was also a successful year for US PPA deals in the wind sector, with corporate buyers announcing 8.7GW of new offtake agreements.
“Wind power provides long-term price stability, allowing companies to invest in their future, without worrying about the price they might have to pay for electricity,” Mr Kiernan said.
AWEA highlighted the threat the COVID-19 pandemic posed to the wind industry and said it was working to protect workers.
According to AWEA analysis, COVID-19 puts around 25GW of wind projects at risk, representing US$35 billion in investment.
This includes the potential loss of over US$8 billion to rural communities in the form of state and local tax payments and land-lease payments to private landowners, as well as the loss of over 35,000 jobs, including wind turbine technicians, construction workers, and factory workers.
“Affordable, reliable energy is not a luxury, it’s a necessity,” Mr Kiernan said.
“It provides the foundation and powers the infrastructure of our great country, ensuring its operations and functionality can continue without interruption on the road to recovery, and the wind energy workforce is working hard to keep the lights on during this trying time”.
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