Four States Get 10 Percent of Energy from Wind

Four U.S. states generated more than 10 percent of their in-state power production from wind energy in 2009, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

New wind power plants were built in 28 states, led by Texas, which added 2,292 megawatts of new power capacity, according to the annual Wind Technologies Market Report. In Iowa, 20 percent of all power generated within state borders was generated by wind power, according to the report. The next highest percentages occurred in South Dakota (13 percent), North Dakota (12 percent), and Minnesota (11 percent).

Overall, the U.S. set a new record with the installation of 10 gigawatts of new wind energy capacity in 2009, accounting for 39 percent of all new electric generating capacity in the U.S. and 26 percent of all new wind capacity worldwide. That growth, however, was outpaced significantly by China, which installed 36 percent of the global market share in 2009 and surpassed the U.S. as the fastest growing market for wind energy.