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Wind power in the United States facts for kids

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US Windpower 1981-2010
A bar graph displaying US installed wind power from 1981 to 2010
United States installed wind power capacity by state 2008
Installed wind power in each U.S. state as of 2008
Vestasturbine
A wind turbine from Vestas, a company that makes wind turbines

Wind power in the United States is a way we make electricity using the wind. It's a big and growing industry! In 2011, the U.S. had enough wind turbines to make 42,432 megawatts (MW) of power. This made the U.S. second in the world for wind power, right after China.

In 2010, wind power created about 2.3% of all the electricity used in the United States. That's a lot of clean energy! It added up to 94,650 thousand megawatt-hours of electricity.

Many states are working to use more renewable energy like wind. Because of this, fourteen states now have over 1,000 MW of wind power. A total of 37 states have at least some large wind farms. Texas leads the way with 10,135 MW of wind power. Iowa is next with 3,675 MW. The Roscoe Wind Farm in Texas was the biggest wind farm in the U.S. in 2011, making 781 MW of power.

The wind power industry in the U.S. creates thousands of jobs. It also brings in billions of dollars. Wind projects help local towns by adding to their tax money. They also help farmers by giving them a steady income if they have wind turbines on their land. GE Energy is a major company that builds wind turbines in the U.S.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Energía eólica en Estados Unidos para niños

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