Energy Mechanics · Electricity · Wind generation

The Plains-states
electricity engine

WIND · TWh/YR · GW
RELEASE · EIA EPM TABLES 1.1.A & 1.14.B
VINTAGE · —
NEXT EPM · —
ONSHORE + OFFSHORE
STATUS · LOADING
U.S. wind generation is — TWh/year — the country's largest non-hydro renewable, and bigger than hydro itself in most years now. Onshore wind is essentially the whole story (~99%); offshore is small but the only segment with material East-Coast capacity. Wind's defining feature is geography: the central Plains corridor (Texas through the Dakotas) gets — of all U.S. wind, because that's where the wind actually blows year-round.
Onshore wind Offshore wind Unused capacity (intermittency) bar length ∝ TWh/year · capacity factor ≈ generation ÷ (capacity × 8,760 h)
TYPE · TWh/YEAR CAPACITY (GW) & CAPACITY FACTOR Onshore wind UTILITY-SCALE FARMS · PLAINS CORRIDOR — Capacity — GW CF — · land-based 2–4 MW turbines, mostly post-2010 builds Plains wind blows hardest at night — complementary to solar, awkward for demand. Offshore wind VINEYARD WIND · SOUTH FORK · COASTAL VIRGINIA — Capacity — GW CF — · steadier ocean winds · larger 8–15 MW turbines Less than 1% of U.S. wind today. Permitting, supply chain, vessel shortage all gating. TOP GENERATING STATES · TWh/YEAR Texas — ~28% of all U.S. wind · ERCOT settlement clears it cheap Iowa — ~60% of in-state generation is wind · highest share in U.S. Oklahoma — Panhandle resource · Western Spirit transmission unlocked more Kansas — Highest capacity factors in the country (~45%) Illinois — Midwest leader · MISO market access · land-use friendly TOP 5 STATES = — OF U.S. WIND · REST OF U.S. = NEW ENGLAND, PNW, CALIFORNIA, ROCKIES
Total wind generation
—
vs 5 yrs ago
—
Total nameplate capacity
—
GW · onshore + offshore
Average capacity factor
—
vs ~93% nuclear · ~25% solar
Share of U.S. generation
—
of all electricity · all sources
SOURCE · U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly (Table 1.1.A net generation by source) and Form EIA-860 for nameplate capacity. Per-state numbers are EIA EPM Table 1.6.B. Capacity factor = generation ÷ (capacity × 8,760 hours/year), where 8,760 hours is the count of hours in a year. Onshore wind's structural CF ceiling is roughly 45% in the best Plains sites (Kansas, Oklahoma panhandle) and ~30% in lower-grade resource areas. Offshore wind clears 40–50% in the steadier coastal regime, but installed capacity is still under 5 GW nationwide. The nocturnal wind pattern in the Plains (peak generation 8pm–6am) is the inverse of solar's daylight curve, which is part of why an all-renewable grid eventually wants both, plus storage to bridge the dawn and dusk gaps.
SECOND·ORDER·EDGE