United States experienced a decline in wind power generation in 2023, marking the first such downturn since the mid-1990s. Despite the addition of 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of new wind capacity, data from the US Energy Information Administration's “Power Plant Operations Report” revealed that wind generation in 2023 totaled 425,235 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 2.1% decrease from the previous year's 434,297 GWh.
The growth of U.S. wind capacity has been remarkable over recent years, more than tripling from 47 GW in 2010 to 147.5 GW by the end of 2023. Similarly, electricity generation from wind turbines had been steadily increasing, mirroring the growth in capacity, until the recent decline. The average capacity factor of the U.S. wind turbine fleet dropped to an eight-year low of 33.5% in 2023, down from 35.9% in 2022, which was an all-time high.
According to the EIA, this decline indicates that “wind as a generation source is maturing after decades of rapid growth.” The agency attributed the drop to slower wind speeds than normal in 2023, particularly in the first half of the year, when wind generation fell by 14% compared to the same period in 2022. The El Niño climate pattern, which weakens tradewinds, was a contributing factor to this slowdown.
However, wind generation saw a rebound from August through December, with a 2.4% increase compared to the same period in 2022, as wind speeds were greater than normal during 2022.
The U.S. EIA divides regions by census divisions, with three divisions accounting for half of the installed wind capacity in the country.
Notably, wind generation decreased the most in the upper Midwest, with the East North Central states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin) experiencing a 6% decline, and the West North Central states (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) seeing an 8% drop.
Conversely, the Mountain Census states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) reported a smaller reduction of 2%.
Despite these declines, three census areas saw growth: the West South Central division experienced a 3% increase in wind generation in 2023, while the Pacific Coast division saw a 1% rise. Texas, home to the largest wind generation fleet in the U.S. at 40.7 GW, saw a notable 4.4% increase in wind generation in 2023, with its installed wind capacity accounting for 28% of the national total.
