Wind power in North Dakota facts for kids

Wind resource map of North Dakota. Darker colors mean more wind!

North Dakota is a super windy state in the U.S. This makes it a leader in using wind power to make electricity. In 2017, over a quarter (26.8%) of all the electricity used in North Dakota came from wind. That's enough power for more than a million homes!

By the end of 2017, North Dakota had machines that could make 2,996 megawatts (MW) of wind power. A megawatt is a way to measure how much power a machine can produce. Think of it like how much energy a giant fan can create! More wind power was added later, reaching 3,628 MW by 2019.

For a while, it was hard to send all this wind power to other places because there weren't enough power lines. But in 2015, a new big power line was finished, helping to move more electricity. North Dakota has really strong winds, which means its wind farms can work very well. Some wind farms, like the Thunder Spirit wind farm, are expected to use over 45% of the wind's energy!

Wind Farms Across North Dakota

North Dakota made the most wind power per person in 2017.

North Dakota has many large wind farms spread out across the state. You can see them on the map to the left. The biggest one is called the Bison Wind Energy Center. It was finished in 2015 and can make 497 MW of power!

In 2017, North Dakota produced more wind energy per person than any other state. This information comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. You can see this in the chart on the right.

How Much Wind Power is Made?

North Dakota Wind Power Capacity Each Year Megawatts of generating capacity

North Dakota Wind Power Made Each Year Million kilowatt-hours of electricity

These charts show how much wind power North Dakota can make (capacity) and how much it actually makes (generation) each year. You can see that both numbers have grown a lot over time! This means North Dakota is building more wind farms and using them to create more clean energy.

When is Wind Power Strongest?

North Dakota's wind farms make a lot of electricity all year long. But the wind tends to be strongest during the spring and fall months. This means more electricity is produced during those times.

North Dakota Monthly Wind Generation in 2017

This chart shows how much wind power was made each month in 2017. You can see that some months, like October and December, had very high wind power generation.

See also

In Spanish: Energía eólica en Dakota del Norte para niños