The U.S. wind energy industry continued growing at an impressive rate in 2014, further solidifying America’s position as a global leader in wind energy, according to two reports recently released by the U.S. Energy Department.
Wind power is a key component of President Barack Obama’s all-of-the-above energy strategy and Clean Power Plan to reduce climate-changing carbon pollution, diversify our energy economy, and boost America’s economic competitiveness by bringing innovative technologies online. With rapidly increasing wind energy generation, fast-growing demand, and steadily decreasing wind energy prices—the lowest ever seen in the United States— the U.S. wind energy market remains strong.
According to the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report released by the Energy Department and its Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, total installed wind power capacity in the United States grew at a rate of eight percent in 2014 and now stands at nearly 66 gigawatts, which ranks second in the world and meets 4.9 percent of end-use electricity demand in an average year.
The United States was the global leader in total wind energy production in 2014. The report also finds that wind energy prices are at an all-time low and are competitive with wholesale power prices and traditional power sources across many areas of the United States.
As shown in the report, America's distributed wind energy industry supports a growing domestic industrial base. U.S.-based small wind turbine manufacturers claimed another strong year of exports to countries across the globe, accounting for nearly 80 percent of U.S.-based manufacturers’ sales.
“With declining costs and continued technological development, these reports demonstrate that wind power is a reliable source of clean, renewable energy for American homes and businesses,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “Through continued investments and the help of stable policies, we’re confident that wind power will keep playing a major role in creating jobs and shaping America’s clean energy future.”
