Wind Energy: Electricity and Economic Potential in Oklahoma

Background

U.S Department of Energy

The U.S Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's map of wind energy potential.

Wind energy is expanding in Oklahoma, especially in western parts of the state.

As a resource, Oklahoma’s wind ranks No. 9 in the nation, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Oklahoma produced more than 2,100 megawatts of electricity from wind in 2011 — about 7.1 percent of the power produced in the state, AWEA data show.

Several wind farms are under construction, and Gov. Mary Fallin and commerce officials hope the state will become a center for manufacturing turbines and towers. The jobs potential has led several state technical schools to start programs to train and certify workers in repairing and servicing wind turbines.

Recently, uncertainty over a federal wind energy tax credit was cited in layoffs at a wind tower manufacturer in Tulsa.

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May 15, 2013

Five Tribes Join Forces to Develop New Oklahoma Wind Farm

Cherokee Nation Chief Bill John Baker told the paper building the largest wind farm of its kind on tribal land would be good for jobs, energy independence, and the environment:

April 12, 2013

Oklahoma’s Strict Rules Eclipse Renewable Energy Promise, Solar Users Say

The costs of residential wind and solar energy installations are decreasing, and electricity customers around the country are excited about the possibility of pushing power back into the grid. The promise of net metering includes tax incentives and credits that shrink electricity bills. But solar users aren’t getting credit for all the electricity they’re generating [...]

January 3, 2013

Tax Credit Extension Helps, But Oklahoma Wind Industry Still Wounded by Uncertainty

The final so-called “fiscal cliff” negotiations included a bill that renewed a federal tax incentive that gives wind energy producers a 2.2 cent per kilowatt hour tax credit. Uncertainty over the incentive’s renewal has been cited in manufacturing slowdowns and job cuts, including 167 job losses at a Tulsa wind tower manufacturer. Oklahoma wind developers scrambled to [...]

November 14, 2012

What We’re Reading: Health Care Lobbying, Gas Revenue Down, Worry About Wind Incentive

Gov. Mary Fallin is getting intense “behind-the-scenes” lobbying from health care interests.

October 10, 2012

Why Oklahoma’s Biggest Green Energy Obstacle Might be Prices, Not Politics

Differences in the two presidential candidates’ energy policies are well illustrated here in Oklahoma, a state with vast oil and gas interests and budding green energy potential. Petroleum is a powerful force, and Mitt Romney’s energy platform synchronizes with those of oil and natural gas companies, which drive Oklahoma’s economy. But the interests of Oklahoma’s [...]

October 2, 2012

Enid Benefitting from All Forms of Oklahoma Energy

Developers and city leaders are wooing national retailers and an “upscale” hotelier with a new convention center and modernized shopping centers. Over the last year, retail sales have “exploded” in Enid, the executive director of the local developers alliance tells the Journal Record‘s David Page. The city has a solid manufacturing base, but two other [...]

September 26, 2012

Oklahoma Wind Will Power Google Data Center

Here’s a win for Oklahoma’s wind-energy industry, which has been battered by layoffs and uncertainty surrounding that soon-to-expire federal tax credit. Google has inked a deal with the Grand River Dam Authority to buy wind power from the Canadian Hills Wind Farm in central Oklahoma. Gary Demasi, director of the search giant’s global infrastructure team [...]

September 25, 2012

Fallin and Romney Got ’99 Percent’ in Common, But This Tax Credit Ain’t One

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin on Monday reiterated her support of the federal production tax credit for wind energy, which expires Dec. 31. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney doesn’t want to renew the credit, which other GOP governors in wind-producing states support. The wind industry supports more than 3,000 jobs in Oklahoma, Fallin tells The Oklahoman‘s [...]

September 10, 2012

One Thing Mitt Romney and Gov. Fallin Disagree On: Wind Energy Tax Credits

Mitt Romney and Republican governor’s have a lot in common, especially when it comes to their positions on energy policy. The Republican presidential candidate’s energy plan — written with the help of top his top energy adviser Harold Hamm, an Oklahoma billionaire and CEO of oil giant Continental Resources — focuses more on oil and [...]

August 15, 2012

Oklahoma Still Top 10 in Wind, Industry Says Presidential Politics Could Blow Growth

Canadian Valley Technical Center wind energy student Jessie Bean stands near of a 13-story wind turbine in El Reno.

Oklahoma is No. 8 in the nation for wind-generation capacity, according to a new report by the Energy Department, but uncertainty over a federal tax credit could hamper wind production here and across the U.S. The Sooner State added 500 megawatts of wind capacity from 2010 to 2011, but it’s ranking remained unchanged, reports The Oklahoman‘s [...]