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Wind power in the United States is a branch of the energy industry, expanding quickly over the last several years. As of the end of 2014 the capacity was 65,879 MW. This capacity is exceeded only by China〔 〕 and the European Union.〔 Thus far, wind power's largest growth in capacity was in 2012, when 11,895 MW of wind power was installed, representing 26.5% of new power capacity. The U.S. wind industry has had an average annual growth of 25.8% over the last 10 years (beginning of 2005-end of 2014).〔 For calendar year 2014, the electricity produced from wind power in the United States amounted to 181.79 terawatt-hours, or 4.44% of all generated electrical energy. For fiscal year 2013, wind power in the United States received $5.936 billion in federal subsidies and supports, or 37% of all subsidies and supports for electricity production. This figure does not include state and local spending.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy in Fiscal Year 2013 )〕 Sixteen states have installed over 1,000 MW of wind capacity with Michigan just breaking the mark in the 4th quarter of 2013. Texas, with 14,098 MW of capacity, has the most installed wind power capacity of any U.S. state, and also has more under construction than any other state currently has installed. Second and third are California and Iowa with 5,917 MW and 5,688 MW respectively.〔 The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the largest wind farm in the United States with a capacity of 1320 MW of power.〔(Terra-Gen Closes on Financing for Phases VII and IX ), Business Wire, April 17, 2012〕 GE Energy is the largest domestic wind turbine manufacturer.〔American Wind Energy Association (2009). (Annual Wind Industry Report, Year Ending 2008 ) pp. 9–10.〕 The U.S. Department of Energy’s report ''20% Wind Energy by 2030'' envisioned that wind power could supply 20% of all U.S. electricity, which included a contribution of 4% from offshore wind power. On January 1, 2013 the production tax credit was extended for another year. Uncertainty about future tax benefits for wind power has led some companies to relocate or close their production facilities. ==Overview== The first municipal use of multiple wind-electric turbines in the USA may have been a five turbine system in Pettibone, North Dakota in 1940. These were commercial Wincharger units on guyed towers.〔( Wind-Generated Electricity Lights a Whole Town, Popular Science, June, 1940 )〕 In 1980 the world's first wind farm, consisting of twenty 30 kW wind turbines was installed at Crotched Mountain, in New Hampshire.〔(Historic Wind Development in New England )〕 From 1974 through the mid-1980s the United States government worked with industry to advance the technology and enable large commercial wind turbines. A series of NASA wind turbines were developed under a program to create a utility-scale wind turbine industry in the U.S., with funding from the National Science Foundation and later the United States Department of Energy (DOE). A total of 13 experimental wind turbines were put into operation, in four major wind turbine designs. This research and development program pioneered many of the multi-megawatt turbine technologies in use today, including: steel tube towers, variable-speed generators, composite blade materials, partial-span pitch control, as well as aerodynamic, structural, and acoustic engineering design capabilities. Later, in the 1980s, California provided tax rebates for wind power. These rebates funded the first major use of wind power for utility electricity. These machines, gathered in large wind parks such as at Altamont Pass would be considered small and un-economic by modern wind power development standards. In 1985 half of the world's wind energy was generated at Altamont Pass. By the end of 1986 about 6,700 wind turbines, mostly less than 100 kW, had been installed at Altamont, at a cost of about $1 billion, and generated about 550 million kWh/year.〔Over ten years the cost of electricity would be $0.18/kWh.〕〔(The Wind Farms of the Altamont Pass Area )〕 In terms of installed wind power capacity, the United States is currently second only to China. , the top five states with the most wind capacity installed are:〔 *Texas (14,098 MW) *California (5,917 MW) *Iowa (5,688 MW) *Oklahoma (3,782 MW) *Illinois (3,568 MW) The United States generates more electricity than either Germany or China, for the same installed capacity. In 2011, the U.S. generated 121 TWh, 27.7% of the world's wind generation, with 19.7% of the world's installed wind capacity, while China generated 73.2 TWh (16.7% of the world's total with 26.1% of the world's installed wind capacity). Germany generated 10.6% of the world's wind generation with 12.1% of the world's installed wind capacity, in 2011.〔(BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2012 )〕 The top five states according to percentage of generation by wind in 2014 are:〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Wind Energy Generation Records )〕 * Iowa (28.5%) * South Dakota (25.3%) * Kansas (21.7%) * Idaho (18.3%) * North Dakota (17.6%) The ten largest wind farms in the United States are: The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the country's largest wind farm at 1320 megawatt (MW) capacity.〔 It consists of 490 wind turbines manufactured by General Electric, and Vestas. In 2012 it surpassed the Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher =google Green Blog )〕 〔(【引用サイトリンク】 publisher =RenewableEnergyWorld.com )〕 A 2012 report by a clean energy consulting group concluded that new wind farms can produce electricity in the 5-8 cents per kWh range, making wind power cost-competitive with fossil fuels in many areas. As of 2013, the US Energy Information Administration estimates the "levelized cost" of wind energy from new installations as 7 to 10 cents per kWh, depending on the geographic area, but cautioned that levelized costs of non-dispatchable sources such as wind should be compared to the avoided energy cost rather than the levelized cost of dispatchable sources such as fossil fuels or geothermal.〔US Energy Information Administration, (Levelized cost of new generation resources ), 28 January 2013.〕 In 2015, Utah State University found that the true cost of wind energy is higher than most cost estimates calculate. Renewable portfolio standards require intermittent renewable energy to exist, but at the expense of utilities and consumers. The production tax credit makes wind power cheaper for utilities and consumers, but at the expense of taxpayers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wind power in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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