Wind power in Washington (state)

Wind Turbines above Walla Walla River in Washington

At the end of 2015, the installed capacity for wind power in Washington was 3,075 megawatts (MW) with wind power accounting for 7,100 GWh,[1] or 7.1% of the electricity generated in the state during 2016.[2] The state ranks among the top ten in terms of cumulative wind capacity.

State legislative support

Wind resource map at 50 m above ground

Initiative 937 requires electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers to have 15 percent of their power supply generated from new renewable resources – excluding existing hydropower – by 2020. Washington has sales tax exemptions for wind energy. Washington provides utility grants, loans and rebates for wind power.[3]

Notable projects

Wind Farm Northeast of Walla Walla, Washington
NameLocationCapacity (MW)Ref
Windy Point Wind FarmKlickitat County400[4]
Wild Horse Wind FarmKittitas County273[4]
Marengo Wind FarmColumbia County211[4]
White Creek Wind FarmKlickitat County205[4]
Big Horn Wind FarmKlickitat County200[4]
Stateline Wind FarmWalla Walla County177[4]
Hopkins Ridge Wind FarmColumbia County385[5]
Lower Snake River Wind ProjectGarfield County342.7[4]
Tucannon River Wind FarmDayton267[6]
Palouse Wind FarmWhitman County, Washington100[7]

Potential capacity

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that Washington has potential to install over 18,000 megawatts of onshore wind power.[8] Washington ranks 24th in its potential for onshore wind generation,[9] and also has the potential to install 120,964 MW of offshore wind generation which could generate 488,025 GWh/year.[10]

Installed

Installed wind power capacity in Washington has seen strong growth in recent years and Washington now ranks among the top ten states with the most wind power installed. Wind power accounted for 5.3% of total electricity generated in Washington during 2011.[11]

The table below shows the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Washington since 1999.[12]

Washington's wind power generating capacity has been steadily increasing since 2005.

Statistics

Wind power in Washington
Year Capacity
(MW)[13]		 Generation
(GWh)		 Generation
(% of total)
20000
2005390
2010[14]2,1044,6524.6%
2011[15]2,5736,2095.3%
2012[16]2,8086,6885.8%
2013[17]2,8087,0086.2%
2014[18]3,0757,2686.3%
2015[19][20]3,0757,1016.5%

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2016 State of the Interconnection page 23. WECC, 2016. Archive
  2. ↑ "Washington Wind Energy" (PDF). U.S. Wind Energy State Facts. American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Washington Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency". Database of State incentives for renewable energy. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Staff (July 2010). "U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Washington". American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  5. ↑ Hopkins Ridge
  6. ↑ Tucanon River Wind Farm
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010-02-04). "State wind energy potential (2010)". U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  9. ↑ "Wind Energy Facts - Washington" (PDF). AWEA. August 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  10. ↑ Renewable Energy Technical Potential
  11. ↑ "AWEA Annual Report 2011". American Wind Energy Association. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Wind Powering America: Installed U.S. Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations". U.S. Department of Energy. April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  13. ↑ Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (2015-06-30). "Installed Wind Capacity By State". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  14. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2010" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. March 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  15. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2011" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  16. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2012" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  17. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2013" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  18. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2014" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  19. ↑ "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2015" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  20. ↑ windexchange
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