Construction costs of US wind energy dropped 27% in 6 years

Increasing demand for wind power across the US's wind belt caused construction costs for installing and operating wind farms to drop by 27% between 2013 and 2019, a new report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has revealed.

While America has only recently commenced construction on its first major offshore wind farm, the average US construction cost for onshore wind generators fell from $1,895 (€1,616) per kilowatt (kW) in 2013 to $1,391 (€1186)/kW in 2019. Many state governments and private companies have been setting up onshore wind farms throughout the decade, while federal government involvement has been negligible.

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The decline coincided with a 74% increase in onshore wind capacity, with 10% of its current capacity being installed in 2019 alone, the report added. Total onshore capacity in the US reached 104 GW within the same period.

Despite this, the prices for wind energy fluctuate greatly depending on region, with Texas reportedly being one of the cheapest places to install wind farms owing to a mix of favourable market conditions, wholesale prices and geographic advantages.

Texas was responsible for 3.5 GW of new onshore wind energy within this five-year timeframe, according to the report.

Prices in both the Midwest and the Southwestern United States generally fell above the national average, according to local bodies that monitor wind prices in those areas.

However, other areas in the wind belt, such as New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado were among the least expensive states for construction wind capacity in 2019.

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Like many states in the wind belt, California had significant wind capacity - roughly 5.9 GW in 2019 - at the end of 2019. However, the state has relatively high average wind plant construction costs, at $2,310 (€1970)/kW for new wind installations between 2013 and 2019, due to a number of factors, from land-use restrictions and state policies

The EIA report is only valid up to 2019. There is currently very little information about current costs for wind energy in the US for this year, but continuing trends and recovery schemes from the coronavirus pandemic have likely continued to see prices drop.

Another EIA analysis suggests wind power generated 337.5 terawatt-hours of power between January and December 2020. May 2021 - the latest data set - saw a 14.2% increase year-on-year.

Wind power surpassed hydroelectric power as the US's largest source of renewable energy in 2019.

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