The Department of Energy’s new wind industry reports show modest growth in 2013 annual wind capacity additions and point to a more robust-growth in 2014-2015.

On August 18, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) released two reports on U.S. wind industry trends in 2013.  The reports show that the U.S. ranked second in the world in terms of cumulative installed wind capacity.  Total 2013 installed wind capacity stands at 61 GW and meets approximately 4.5 percent of average annual demand.

Annual and Cumulative Growth in U.S. Wind Power Capacity (DOE)

The 2013 Wind Technologies Market Report found that 2013 wind power installations were only eight percent of the record high-installations in 2012.  With $1.8B in investment and 1,087 MW of new capacity additions, cumulative wind capacity grew by less than two percent to a total of 61 GW.  Wind represented seven percent of 2013 electric-generating capacity additions.  Wind turbine prices and installed project costs continued to trend lower. The report forecast that cost and performance improvements of wind power technologies will boost near-term capacity additions, resulting in lowest wind power prices.  Projects that received the Production Tax Credit, which is available for projects that began construction by the end of 2013, will be commissioned in the near-term and industry growth prospects beyond 2015 are uncertain.

Small Wind Turbine Sales (DOE)

The 2013 Distributed Wind Market Report revealed that 30.4 MW of distributed wind capacity worth $90M was added in 2013, representing approximately 2,700 units across 36 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Exports from U.S.-based small wind turbine manufacturers increased by 70 percent from 8 MW to 13.6 MW from 2012-2013.  U.S. suppliers dominated the domestic market for small wind installations, representing 93 percent of sales on a unit basis and 88 percent on a capacity basis.  Residential applications represented 40 percent of 2013 distributed wind deployment with off-grid small wind turbine models continuing to account for the bulk of wind turbine deployments.  Grid-tied applications accounted for more than 97 percent of annual domestic distributed wind capacity.  The report highlighted that initial emergence of third-party financing in 2013 offers positive implications for distributed wind generation in the domestic market.

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