US Installs Record Wind Capacity In Q2’15, Texas Reigns Supreme

The United States installed a record of 845 wind turbines, totalling 1,661 MW, in the second quarter of 2015, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

The turbines were spread out across 12 separate projects in five different states, however it was the state of Texas that blew the competition away in the second quarter, installing a total of 1,226 MW. This brings Texas’ total installed capacity up over 15,000 MW, well surpassing California’s 6,000 MW.

Following well behind Texas was Oklahoma, installing 150 MW, California with 107 MW, Illinois with 99 MW, and South Dakota with 80 MW.

In total, the US wind industry has now installed 1,014 wind turbines for 2015, totalling 1,994 MW, more than double the 835 MW that was installed during the first half of 2014, though it is still well short of historical trends. The US now has a total of 67,870 MW of installed wind capacity, thanks to a total of 49,000 wind turbines.

Tri Global Energy, a Dallas-based developer of utility-scale renewable energy, was again highlighted as the leading project developer in Texas for the second quarter of 2015. The company currently has over 2,400 MW of wind energy projects currently under construction across Texas, and the company’s wind projects represent approximately a third of all wind power projects currently being developed in the southern state, and approximately 18% of all projects under construction nationally.

“All signs point to the continued strong growth in demand for renewable energy, and we are aggressively working to expand our participation in the market for wind energy,” said John Billingsley, Chairman and CEO of Tri Global Energy. “We’re also encouraged by the initial moves in Congress to extend the production tax credit and investment tax credit, which help put renewable energy projects on a more equal footing with fossil fuels.”