U.S. wind power saw a massive 77% increase in installed capacity in 2015, withnon-utility installations out in front of the trend, according to a new report from the American Wind Energy Association. The data shows that power purchase agreements are popular for commercial customers: 75% of the MW contracted through PPAs in the 4th quarter of 2015 coming from corporate users and 3,733 MW in total projects from companies in 2015.
The U.S. Wind Industry Fourth Quarter 2015 Market Report shows the U.S. boasting a total of 8,598 MW installed in 2015, with total capacity sitting at 75,472 MW. Utilities are shown to be supporting wind as well, with 2,300 MW of installations associated with utility PPA contracts over the 4th quarter alone. The report also notes that Texas continues to lead the nation in installed capacity by a wide margin, followed by Iowa, California, Oklahoma and Illinois rounding out the top five.
