The boom in wind energy couldn’t be coming at a better time
According to reports from the Department of Energy released today, wind energy in the US is booming with installed capacity currently at 66 giga-watts, which can provide electricity to around 17.5 million homes. The reports suggest that costs of wind farms are falling, technologies are advancing and job creation from building and maintaining wind farms is growing. The positive results suggest that the boom in wind power production is likely to continue, especially given Obama's Clean Power Plan announced last week.
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According to the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report, total installed wind power capacity in the United States grew at a rate of eight percent in 2014, bringing the United States total installed capacity to nearly 66 gigawatts (GW), which ranks second in the world and meets 4.9 percent of U.S. end-use electricity demand in an average year. In total, 4,854 MW of new wind energy capacity were installed in the United States in 2014. The 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report also finds that wind energy prices are at an all-time low and are competitive with wholesale power prices and traditional power sources across many areas of the United States.

Additionally, a new trend identified by the 2014 Wind Technologies Market Report shows utility-scale turbines with larger rotors designed for lower wind speeds have been increasingly deployed across the country in 2014. The findings also suggest that the success of the U.S. wind industry has had a ripple effect on the American economy, supporting 73,000 jobs related to development, siting, manufacturing, transportation, and other industries.