Wind power in Washington

At the end of 2015, the installed capacity of wind power in Washington was 3,075 megawatts (MW) with wind power accounting for 7,101 GWh.[1] In 2016, it reached a generation of 8,041 GWh, comprising 7.1% of the electricity generated in the state.[2] In 2023, it had a capacity of 3,407 MW (with another 600MW under construction), responsible for 7.75% of generation.[3]

Wind Turbines above Walla Walla River in Washington

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.[4]

Notable projects
See also: List of power stations in Washington
Wind Farm Northeast of Walla Walla, Washington
NameLocationCapacity (MW)Ref
Windy Point Wind FarmKlickitat County400[5]
Wild Horse Wind FarmKittitas County273[5]
Marengo Wind FarmColumbia County211[5]
White Creek Wind FarmKlickitat County205[5]
Big Horn Wind FarmKlickitat County200[5]
Stateline Wind FarmWalla Walla County177[5]
Hopkins Ridge Wind FarmColumbia County157[6]
Lower Snake River Wind ProjectGarfield County344.7[5]
Tucannon River Wind FarmColumbia County267[7]
Palouse Wind FarmWhitman County100[8]
Nine Canyon Wind ProjectBenton County95.9[9]

Potential capacity

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that Washington has potential to install over 18,000 megawatts of onshore wind power.[10] Washington ranks 24th in its potential for onshore wind generation,[11] and also has the potential to install 120,964 MW of offshore wind generation which could generate 488,025 GWh/year.[12]

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.[13]

The table below shows the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Washington from 1999 to 2011.[14]

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

Statistics
Wind power in Washington
Year Capacity
(MW)[15][16][17]		 Generation
(GWh) 		Capacity Factor[18]
(%)		 Generation
(% of total)
20000
2001180.2
2002228.3418 21.9
2003243.9602 28.2
2004240.6737 35
2005390498 15.6
2006818.11,038 14.5
20071,163.22,439 23.9
20081,3753,658 30.4
20091,848.93,571 22
2010[19]2,104.44,475 24.34.6%
2011[20]2,5736,261 27.85.3%
2012[21]2,8086,600 26.85.8%
2013[22]2,8087,003 24.56.2%
2014[23]3,0757,269 266.3%
2015[24][25]3,0757,077 26.36.5%
20163,0758,043 29.97.1%
20173,0756,925 25.7
20183,0757,899 29.3
20193,0856,679 24.77.33%
2020[3]3,3959,265 28
20219,458
Washington Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
2002418482151352833363134263342
2003602283571764274615533425233
2004737705985627248394757655875
2005498302356424863343840444931
20061,03815181857773598153496318482
20072,439151155211197183211156200201206196372
20083,658314297361375330397307297170238253319
20093,571316144435322330356239345282307334161
20104,475221130401619522519422471361348402329
20116,261519484513745557637529572367497499342
20126,600531511777607682724469484316516345638
20137,003502672649890610537568456587350505677
20147,269448540754770723783552491517480679532
20157,077304492573681524567772717554578608707
20168,043438631819699797780735575684606606673
20176,925282441650806567772827611528664498279
20187,899447863708793751836756819559394516457
20196,679315385366764720884819688641519325253
20209,265931972915800784745725627501876775614
20219,458696898940927811671550639701767945963
20229,5567899099641,040927667526542590741835756
20232,569703947919

Source:[16]

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. Wind Energy in Washington
  4. "Washington Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency". Database of State incentives for renewable energy. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  5. Staff (July 2010). "U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Washington". American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  6. PSE Hopkins Ridge Wind Facility
  7. Tucanon River Wind Farm
  8. http://www.firstwind.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Palouse-Fact-Sheet.pdf
  9. "Nine Canyon Wind Project". Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  10. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010-02-04). "State wind energy potential (2010)". U.S. Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  11. "Wind Energy Facts - Washington" (PDF). AWEA. August 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  12. Renewable Energy Technical Potential
  13. "AWEA Annual Report 2011". American Wind Energy Association. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  14. "Wind Powering America: Installed U.S. Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations". U.S. Department of Energy. April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  15. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (2015-06-30). "Installed Wind Capacity By State". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  16. "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  17. WINDExchange: U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Power Capacity and Generation
  18. "Capacity factor", Wikipedia, 2021-08-22, retrieved 2021-08-25
  19. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2010" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. March 2011. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  20. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2011" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  21. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2012" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  22. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2013" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  23. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2014" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  24. "Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2015" (PDF). U.S. Energy Information Administration. February 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  25. windexchange
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