Over the last couple of decades, the renewable energy industry in the United States has grown exponentially with onshore wind farms being among the largest providers. As of January 2022, 434.8 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power or 10.25% of electricity in the country. The average wind turbine generates enough electricity in 46 minutes to power the average American home for one month. In January last year, it was reported that the installed wind power nameplate generating capacity in the United States was 141,300 megawatts (MW). This capacity is exceeded only by China and the European Union. These are the top 5 wind farms in the United States.
Alta Wind Energy Center (AWEC)
Located in Kern County, California the wind farm is also known as Mojave Wind Farm. The project was commissioned in 2010 and was officially completed in 2019 with 13 total phases. The total capacity for the center is 1,550 MW making it the largest wind farm in the country. Located on 9,000 acres of land, it was developed by Terra-Gen Power and cost US$1.2 billion to complete. Furthermore, it created over 3,000 domestic jobs and has been projected to contribute over one billion dollars to the local economy.
The Western Spirit Wind Project
Developed and owned by Pattern Energy, the Western Spirit Wind Project broke ground in January 2021 and was completed by January 2022 when it started commercial operations. The wind farm, located in New Mexico, has 4 total phases and a combined capacity off over 1.05 GW. With over 377 wind turbines, the project is located on 118,168 hectares of land. Additionally, it is part of a larger group of wind developments called the 2.2GW Corona wind projects.
Traverse Wind Energy Center
Developed by Invenergy and owned by American Electric Power, construction on the facility began in 2021 and became operational in March 2022. Costing US$1.3 billion, the farm is located in Oklahoma and has a total capacity of 998 MW. It has been hailed as the biggest wind park built in a single phase in North America. In addition, at full capacity, it is estimated to generate approximately 3.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity per year.
Los Vientos Wind Farm
Located in South Texas, the 912 MW wind farm is the fourth largest onshore wind farm. It was completed in 2016 after four years of construction and consists of five phases. It was developed by Duke Energy who also owns the facility. Further, there are 416 turbines on the 30,000-acre farmland.
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm
Located in Oregon, the 845MW facility is the fifth-largest wind farm. Construction broke ground in 2009 and was completed in September 2012. It was developed by Caithness Energy. Moreover, it is owned by Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, Tyr Energy, Caithness Energy, GE and Google. Further, it was estimated to cost US$2 billion and has a total of 338 turbines.
To read about the largest wind farm under construction, click this link: Construction begins on SunZia wind facility and SunZia transmission line in New Mexico
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Construction begins on Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project by dominion.
