U.S. Midwest proves fertile ground for wind energy

Farming states lead the way in wind’s share of total electricity generation

When it comes to green energy, this American region certainly knows which way the wind blows.

The Midwest is known as the “bread basket” of the United States for the profusion of cereal crops—wheat, corn, oats—that grow in its rich soil.

And another moniker may be in order soon. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that a total of 11 U.S. states generated at least 10% of their total electricity from wind in 2015—with five farming states leading the way.

Map credit National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Those five states with the largest wind generation share, according to the EIA, are as follows:

• Iowa (31.3%)
• South Dakota (25.5%)
• Kansas (23.9%)
• Oklahoma (18%)
• North Dakota (18%)

As recently as 2010, only three American states had at least a 10% wind share.

Speaking nationally, wind power has accounted for a growing percentage of total U.S. electricity generation every year since 2001. In 2015, wind farms produced more than 190,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity—4.7% of net American electric generation.

Texas and New Mexico are also poised to surpass the 10% threshold in 2016, according to EIA data from the first half of the year. The Lone Star State is the most prolific producer of wind energy in the union—accounting for 24% of total U.S. wind generation, which translates to 9.9% of Texas’s total electricity generation in 2015.

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