US installs 1.6 GW of wind capacity in Q3 2015

The US wind industry installed 1,602 MW of capacity in the third quarter of 2015, bringing the country close to 70 GW of total installed wind capacity, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said on Thursday.

In the year to date, 3,596 MW of capacity was added, more than double the 1,254 MW installed in the same period of 2014. Overall wind capacity in the US now stands at 69,471 MW.

There are a further near-record of 13,250 MW under construction and another 4,100 MW in advanced stages of development. AWEA warned, however, that industry growth is in jeopardy due to policy uncertainty as while the US Senate Finance Committee voted earlier this year for a package of "tax extenders," including extending the main federal tax incentives for renewable generation, Congress has yet to pass the bill.

The third quarter saw the completion of 13 projects in seven states. The top three states for capacity additions were Texas with 771 MW, Oklahoma with 398 MW and Kansas with 201 MW.

The association also noted that corporate purchasers and cities continue to invest in wind power. Amazon Web Services, Hewlett-Packard and the city of Washington DC all signed power purchase agreements (PPA) for wind projects in North Carolina, Texas and Pennsylvania, respectively in the period.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!