The American Wind Energy Association, industry's main trade group, has released its latest snapshot of U.S. development. A few takeaways and numbers from the wealth of new data:
- Check out the chart above. It's a very busy time in the industry, with 13,759 megawatts of power capacity under construction, and another 15, 875 MW in "advanced" development — that is, projects that aren't under construction yet but are clearly in the pipeline thanks to steps such as a signed power purchase contract or other factors.
- Growth: That combined 29,634 megawatts of capacity under construction or in the pipeline is a 27% year-over-year increase, according to AWEA. For context, the total amount of nationwide installed capacity at the end of 2016 was just over 82,000 MW.
- Where it's happening: "Consistent with the previous quarter, 30% of combined activity is located in the Midwest. An additional 23% is located in Texas, followed by the Mountain West states (20%) and the Plains states (18%)," the report states.
- All done: 2,892 MW of wind power capacity has been brought online through the first three quarters of the year.
- Corporate procurement: The report notes that some familiar names — Anheuser-Busch, Cummins, JPMorgan Chase, and Kimberly-Clark — all signed wind power purchase agreements for the first time.