Wind Resources in the United States

The United States has a vast amount of wind resources. It is common to classify areas into one of seven wind classes according to the wind speeds at a specified height above the ground. With moderate exceptions to account for protected areas, urban areas, wetlands, and other unavailable area, the United States has 3,500 gigawatts of wind capacity with “excellent,” above Class 4, wind resources. Interestingly, the states which boast the largest wind power capacity, California, Texas, Iowa, and Minnesota, do not have a large deal of excellent (Class 5), outstanding (Class 6), or superb (Class 7) wind capacity. They primarily fall in regions classified as having fair (Class 3) or good (Class 4) wind resources. This speaks to the power that public policy has to encourage project development.