Iowa Passes 3,000 MW Mark in Wind

Wind energy industry installs 1,200 MW in second quarter

The U.S. wind energy industry installed 1,210 megawatts (MW) of new power generating capacity in the second quarter, bringing the total added this year to just over 4,000 MW -  an amount larger than the 2,900 MW added in the first six months of 2008, according to the the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) second quarter report.

Iowa added 160 MW during the quarter according to the report, passing the 3,000-MW mark with a cumulative total of 3,043 MW installed, consolidating its position as the No. 2 state, behind Texas (8,361 MW) and ahead of California (2,787 MW).

AWEA said it is seeing a reduced number of orders and a lower level of activity in the manufacture of wind turbines and their components, a development it termed troubling in view of the fact that the U.S. industry was previously on track for much larger growth and the global wind power industry is continuing to expand.

The 1,210 MW were installed in 10 states, and are enough to power the equivalent of about 350,000 homes.  These new installations nudge total U.S. wind power generating capacity to 29,440 MW, according to the report.  The U.S. wind power generating fleet now offsets an average of 54 million tons of carbon annually, reducing carbon emissions from the electricity sector by 2 percent or the equivalent of taking 9 million cars off the road.

The state posting the fastest growth in the quarter was Missouri, where wind power installations expanded by 90 percent.