Concerning the installed wind power capacity, China is still world leader. But the United States has more wind energy supplying its electrical grid than any other country, including China.

In 2013, the United States produced over 167 billion kWh of wind energy, whereas China produced and delivered 138 billion kWh, according to a new analysis from U.S. wind pioneer James Walker. It relies on data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency, the International Energy Agency, the Global Wind Energy Council, and the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). As of September 2014, there were 46,600 wind turbines operating in the U.S. with a total generating capacity of 62,300 MW – enough to provide power for 15.5 million average American homes. A total of 1,254 MW have come online so far in 2014 and there is currently 13,600 MW under construction across 105 projects.

Until recently the international standings in wind energy production have been difficult to establish because of missing data, but it can now be revealed that the U.S. holds roughly a 20 % world lead in total wind-generated electricity. That’s although China pulled ahead of the U.S. several years ago in installed wind turbine capacity, the theoretical maximum that all turbines would produce if running full-out, in which it holds roughly a 50 % lead.

“America is blessed with outstanding wind resources. We invented utility-scale wind farms, and by investing in building and fine-tuning them here in the U.S., we now have some of the best infrastructures ever built in this country,” said Walker. “This is a victory for American productivity, in an industry that began here and has rapidly evolved with the ingenuity of U.S. inventors, engineers, manufacturers, and developers.” The American wind energy industry has built a new domestic manufacturing sector with 500 factories in 43 states, attracts an average of US$ 15 billion a year in private investment into the U.S. economy, and supports an average of 73,000 jobs.

Over US$ 120 billion worth of U.S. wind projects have been installed since the year 2000. “We have built an industry that’s revitalizing local and rural economies in the U.S., attracting US$ 15 billion a year in private investment into our economy, and we are leading the world in production,” said AWEA CEO Tom Kiernan. “We have common-sense federal tax policy to thank for this production, the Production Tax Credit, which only rewards results. And being number one in the world is the best result you can ask for.”

In addition, the U.S. wind energy industry has been able to lower its costs by more than half in the last five years, according to the recently released annual analysis of the levelized cost of energy by Wall Street advisory firm Lazard. In addition to the savings on shipping from close-by U.S. factories, investments in taller towers, longer blades, improved gearboxes, and transmission lines, and over 30 years of experience in siting and operating wind turbines to maximize their power output, have helped drive down costs and improve productivity.

Walker is a past President of AWEA and now Vice Chairman of EDF Renewable Energy, a leading developer of wind energy. He served as CEO from October 2002 until March 2005, and was subsequently responsible for management of the company’s portfolio of over US$ 1 billion of operating wind projects.

Katharina Garus