Iowa leads nation in wind power

Wind power provides 5.5% of the electricity generated in Iowa, making it the leading state for wind power generation on a percentage basis, according to the American Wind Energy Assn.

By Consulting Specifying Engineer Staff April 10, 2008

Wind power provides 5.5% of the electricity generated in Iowa, making it the leading state for wind power generation on a percentage basis, according to the American Wind Energy Assn. (AWEA).
AWEA’s annual ranking of wind power leadership also shows Texas leading the states in terms of both installed wind power capacity and the amount of new wind power capacity installed last year. The Sweetwater, Texas, wind plant more than doubled in capacity to 585 MW, pushing the plant to second place in size rankings.

AWEA’s report states that due to the expanding use of wind power in the United States, more wind turbine manufacturing facilities are being built. In early March, Vestas Americas A/S opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Windsor, Colo. The 400,000-sq.-ft factory originally was to manufacture 1,200 wind blades per year, but the company announced that production was to increase to 1,800 blades per year.

A global wind map is available for viewing. It provides global wind data at an 80-meter height for a single year.