Oklahoma Moves Up, Now No. 6 in Wind Power Generation

• Logan Layden
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  Logan Layden is a reporter and managing editor for StateImpact Oklahoma. He is a native of McAlester, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009. Logan spent three years as a state capitol reporter and local host of All Things Considered for NPR member station KGOU in Norman and six years as a reporter with StateImpact from 2011 to 2017. Most recently, he was news director for McAlester Radio before returning to public radio in 2020.

Logan Layden / StateImpact Oklahoma

Wind turbines near Woodward in northwest Oklahoma.

Oklahoma remains one of the top states for wind power generation, U.S. Department of Energy officials said Monday.

Oklahoma ranked No. 6 in wind power capacity in 2012, an improvement from the No. 8 position the state held in 2011, according to an update of the agency’s Wind Technologies Market Report.

A press release from the U.S. Department of Energy highlights Oklahoma’s importance in the growing trend toward a greater reliance on wind power:

… Oklahoma installed 1,127 megawatts (MW) of new wind power capacity, bringing its total to about 3,130 MW

… With this installed capacity, Oklahoma can generate about 14 percent of its electricity from wind energy.

The DOE report trumpets the growth in wind energy generation and use over the past year, while also warning of a coming slowdown due to policy uncertainty around the industry’s tax credits.

Uncertainty over wind industry tax credits is an ongoing issue StateImpact Oklahoma has addressed before. The closure of Tulsa-based DMI Industries was blamed on the threat of tax credits expiring at the end of 2012. Ultimately, the credits were extended for another year.

Right-click here to download a .pdf summary of the 2012 Wind Technologies Market Report.