By the end of Q1 in 2023, the US had a total installed wind capacity of 145.57GW, with a total potential wind capacity of 10,640.08GW. In this article, we present the three largest operational onshore wind projects in the US, as of July 2023.
1) 1.55GW Alta Wind Energy Center in California
The Alta Wind Energy Center in California is the largest operational onshore wind farm in the United States with a capacity of 1,548MW. That is, until the planned 2000GW Windpark XI in Iowa becomes operational. The Alta Wind Energy Center is located in Tehachapi, Kern County. New York-based company Terra-Gen Power owns and operates the wind project. The electricity generated by the wind farm is sold to Southern California Edison under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The wind park supplies about 450,000 households with electricity.
Location: Tehachapi, Kern County, California
Developer/Owner: Terra-Gen Power
2) 1.48GW North Central Wind Energy Facilities in Oklahoma
The most recently finished wind project on this list is the North Central Wind Energy Facility in Oklahoma. Developed by Invenergy, the project has a wind capacity of 1,484MW. The project comprises three wind farms that are located in north central Oklahoma: The 999MW Traverse Wind Energy Center, the 287MW Maverick Wind Energy Center and the 199MW Sundance Wind Energy Center. The Traverse Wind Energy Center was the last of the wind farms to become operational in 2022. All three wind farms were developed by Chicago-based Invenergy and were owned by PSO and SWEPCO. Since completion, the facilities are owned by Ohio-based American Electric Power.
Location: Blaine and Custer counties, north central Oklahoma
Developer: Invenergy
Owner: American Electric Power
3) 1.05GW Western Spirit Wind Farm in New Mexico
Located in New Mexico, the Western Spirit project with a capacity of 1.05GW comprises the following four wind farms: The 349MW Red Cloud, 324MW Clines Corners, 272MW Tecolote and 105MW Duran Mesa. The four wind farms are located across the Lincoln, Guadalupe and Torrance counties in central New Mexico and spread over 118,168 hectares of land. Owner and developer of the wind project is Pattern Energy. The San Francisco-based developer has built a large portfolio of over 4.5GW of wind farms in New Mexico, either in operation or development. The onshore wind project started construction in January 2021 and became operational in January 2022. The wind project generates enough electricity to cover consumption of 590,000 US households.
Location: Guadalupe, Lincoln and Torrance counties, New Mexico
Developer/Owner: Pattern Energy
Image: American Public Power Association via Unsplash (19.07.2023)
