John Phipps: You May Be Surprised Which States Provide Majority of the Wind Energy in the U.S.

I had intended to talk about the tariffs but being easily distracted, a beautiful graphic from Visual Capitalist grabbed my attention. While I was aware that the West and especially the southern Plains had high average wind speeds, I was unaware the Midwest was a good place as well to site wind turbines, especially the newer, bigger one. Suddenly, all those turbines in cornfields made more sense.

Looking at the map it also become clear the place to build turbines for the coastal urban centers is off-shore. Recent news showing Texas struggling with the heat wave in part due to lower wind-generated power was unsurprising given it is the largest wind-energy state. What did surprise me was the discovery Iowa obtains the majority of its electricity from wind.

Across the nation wind now supplies 10% of all power, but there are 10 states, mostly in the Southeast that generate none. For good reason, looking at the wind speed map again.

The battle against wind farm construction in farm country will doubtless continue, but the end of federal construction subsidies may slow expansion of this power source in the coming years. Predictions should be taken skeptically since not only is turbine cost per unit of power continuing to drop, but the political winds can shift as well.

Maps and graphics like this reinforce what energy experts have been trying to tell us for decades. The potential for wind energy is real, but our embarrassingly out-of-date electrical grid, inefficient state regulations, and slow acceptance of this energy source are unnecessary impediments to increasing this cheaper, cleaner source of electricity. EV critics are right about the shift away from internal combustion engines requiring more electrical power.

Wind energy looks like a partial solution to the estimated 25% demand increase, but only if we can get the power where it’s needed when it’s needed. Other countries like Australia, the EU, and China are taking the lead in finding solutions to this technical problem, and in the coming weeks I’ll talk about what power grids of the future will look like and how they are crucial to not just lowering emissions but making electricity more reliable and efficient.