The Department of Energy (DOE) has released three annual reports revealing the growth of the wind power sector in the United States. According to the reports. Wind power accounted for 22% of all new electricity capacity installed in the U.S. in 2022, second only to solar, representing $12 million in capital investments and employing more than 125,000 Americans.
The reports also indicate that the tax incentives in President Biden’s Investing in America agenda are responsible for the increase in near-term wind deployment forecasts and are helping keep wind power and natural gas prices competitive. Both onshore and offshore wind energy will help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s clean energy goals.
“As one of the cheapest energy sources nationwide, wind energy generates enough electricity to power more than 43 million homes and is creating good-paying jobs for the growing domestic wind energy workforce,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is expanding our nation’s domestic supply chain, increasing energy security, and growing the wind energy market to drive our clean energy future.”
Since the passage of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, forecasts for land-based wind energy installed in 2026 have increased nearly 60% from about 11,500 MW to 18,000 MW, enough to power an additional two million homes.
There were also nearly 11 announcements of manufacturing facilities planning to open, re-open, or expand to serve the land-based wind industry. The advanced manufacturing production tax credit in the Inflation Reduction Act is estimated to reduce the cost of offshore wind blades by 27% and steel towers by 18%.
8,511 MW of new utility-scale land-based wind generation capacity was also added in 2022, which is equivalent to powering 2.5 million American homes. Per the reports, taller wind turbines can create more electricity with wind resources available on land.
The Biden-Harris Administration is developing an American offshore wind industry to create jobs, strengthen the nation’s energy security, make the power grid more reliable while lowering energy costs, and reduce dangerous climate pollution.
A report prepared by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that the capacity of U.S. offshore wind energy projects being developed and currently operating increased 15% to 52,687 MW as compared to 2022, enough to power over 18 million American homes. This includes two operating projects totaling 42 MW, 40 projects under development totaling 47,606 MW, and an additional 5,039 MW of potential capacity in the planning stage.
As per the report, three new wind energy areas will be auctioned in the Gulf of Mexico. While state policies across 13 states aim to procure 112,286 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2050, work is currently in progress to integrate offshore wind energy into long-term state grid planning in New York, New Jersey, New England, and California.
A report prepared by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reported that 1,755 distributed wind turbines were added across 13 states in 2022. The turbines total 29.5 MW of new capacity and represent $84 million in new investment in 2022.
