Table 31. Land Available for Potential Wind Development by Region
and State, and Average Megawatts of Wind Generating Capability
Moderate Land Use and Environmental Restrictions
Regions/States Within 10 Miles of Transmission
Potential Power Output
Area Exposed to Wind at a 50-Meter Hub Height
(square kilometers) (megawatts)
Northwest 79,311 101,383
Idaho 1667 2,151
Montana 3,7028 43,753
Oregon 2063 2,724
Washington 2454 3,417
Wyoming 3,6099 49,339
North Central 26,4968 318,813
Iowa 42,425 46,898
Minnesota 43,520 54,020
Nebraska 67,614 72,510
North Dakota 59,125 81,342
South Dakota 52,284 64,043
Great Lakes 14,524 14,990
Illinois 5,753 5,926
Indiana 27 28
Michigan 3,915 4,063
Ohio 333 343
Wisconsin 4,496 4,631
Northeast 14,721 16,099
Connecticut 621 652
Maine 191 294
Massachusetts 2,096 2,225
New Hampshire 417 528
New Jersey 905 993
New York 6,116 6,432
Pennsylvania 4,001 4,491
Rhode Island 50 52
Vermont 324 432
East Central 2,061 2,283
Delaware 249 256
Kentucky 41 42
Maryland 235 256
North Carolina 249 308
Tennessee 140 159
Virginia 652 706
West Virginia 493 555
Southeast 92 107
Alabama 0 0
Florida 0 0
Georgia 51 62
Mississippi 0 0
South Carolina 41 44
South Central 213,085 236,423
Arkansas 1,239 1,305
Kansas 78,369 88,406
Louisiana 0 0
Missouri 3,064 3,156
Oklahoma 50,562 56,270
Texas 79,851 87,285
South Rocky Mountain 32,420 37,604
Arizona 164 190
Colorado 19,067 23,350
New Mexico 12,754 13,262
Utah 435 803
Southwest 4,306 6,371
California 3,753 5,546
Nevada 553 826
Contiguous U.S. Total 625,488 734,073
Note: Potential generating capability is presented in average megawatts per square
kilometer. Capacity denoted in average megawatts should not be confused with
nameplate capacity in megawatts. The nameplate capacity rating represents peak
output at the rated wind speed, while average megawatts is the normalized actual
power production (average megawatts multiplied by 8,760 hours per year results in the
annual energy production in kilowatthours per year).
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, "U.S. Wind Resources Accessible to
Transmission Lines" (August 5, 1994).
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