The map above shows wind energy density in the United States. The higher the peaks, the more wind energy is produced in that region.
The numbers show the the total amount of electricity (in thousand megawatthours) produced by wind by state based on data from the EIA for 2016.
And if you’re curious here’s the full table:
| State | Generation (Megawatthours) |
|---|---|
| AK | 169,301 |
| AZ | 541,582 |
| CA | 13,509,039 |
| CO | 9,421,204 |
| CT | 12,742 |
| DE | 5,321 |
| HI | 639,127 |
| IA | 20,071,999 |
| ID | 2,578,415 |
| IL | 10,663,434 |
| IN | 4,899,474 |
| KS | 14,110,881 |
| MA | 216,123 |
| MD | 527,114 |
| ME | 1,667,103 |
| MI | 4,695,783 |
| MN | 9,933,487 |
| MO | 1,121,883 |
| MT | 2,140,191 |
| NC | 6,233 |
| ND | 8,171,922 |
| NE | 3,798,387 |
| NH | 432,324 |
| NJ | 20,841 |
| NM | 3,605,421 |
| NV | 343,865 |
| NY | 3,940,180 |
| OH | 1,245,337 |
| OK | 20,069,089 |
| OR | 7,157,128 |
| PA | 3,476,246 |
| RI | 26,532 |
| SD | 3,714,259 |
| TN | 37,747 |
| TX | 57,530,784 |
| US-Total | 226,992,562 |
| UT | 822,282 |
| VT | 291,182 |
| WA | 8,041,847 |
| WI | 1,515,261 |
| WV | 1,432,154 |
| WY | 4,389,338 |
Oil rich Texas is also by far the US leader in wind energy generation accounting for just 25% of total US production. Other major generators include Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas and California.
In total, 41 States produce at least some of their electricity from wind, which leaves only 9 states (all Southern) who don’t.
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Dan W says
It’s wild that the portion of the Lower 48 that gets some of the most violent wind-related weather (hurricanes) happens to be the furthest from consistent wind energy density.