New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Some 13,413 MW of new wind capacity was installed in the US in 2021, bringing the country’s cumulative total to 135,886 MW, according to three market reports recently published by the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The reports note that this was the second-highest amount of wind capacity installed in the US in one year, after 2020. It represents $20bn of investment and raised the proportion of wind electricity generation nationwide to over 9%.
The US’ offshore wind energy pipeline grew by 14% in 2021, achieving a potential generating capacity of 40 GW. Over 40,000 MW is currently in various stages of development, including two fully operational projects which together total 42 MW. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is largely responsible for the increase, auctioning eight new lease areas in the Atlantic and converting two California Call Areas into Wind Energy Areas.
The DOE attributes reductions in costs and improvements in performance of wind power technologies along with the Production Tax Credit for the expansion of wind energy. It finds that in 2021 the average nameplate capacity of newly installed wind turbines was 3 MW, a growth of 9% from 2020 and 319% since 1998–1999.
The combined health, climate and grid-system advantages of wind are now more than three times its levelised cost of energy, according to the DOE. It is hoped that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will result in an even greater expansion of wind energy.
