Humans have been harnessing wind energy for thousands of years. From sails propelling boats down the Nile River in 5,000 B.C.E. to windmills pumping water, grinding grain, and running sawmills, wind has long played an essential role in powering our lives.
Gusts produce enormous amounts of energy, with estimates suggesting that we could capture 35 times more energy in 24 hours than humanity currently consumes – even with all our connected devices, electric vehicles, and air-conditioning units.
Let’s take a look at the basics of wind energy to better understand why this clean, inexhaustible renewable resource is playing an increasingly vital role in the US energy mix – and see where they could be coming online.
A wind turbine works like a fan in reverse – instead of using electricity to move air, it uses moving air to generate electricity.
When drafts blow, the blades capture the kinetic energy and spin a rotor. That rotor turns a shaft connected either to a gearbox (which increases rotational speed) or directly to a generator. Inside the generator, magnets and copper coils convert that spinning motion into electricity through electromagnetic induction.
There are two main types:
In a typical HAWT, electricity generated by the rotor passes down the tower to a transformer, which adjusts the voltage before feeding it into the grid.
Three main factors determine how much energy a turbine produces:
To operate efficiently, small models typically require average annual speeds of at least 9 miles per hour, while larger utility-scale turbines generally need gusts blowing at least 13 mph. Ideal locations for these resources include open plains, hilltops, mountain passes that channel wind, and offshore waters with consistent breezes.
Modern turbines stand on towers ranging from 500 to 900 feet tall – taller than the Statue of Liberty – because the greater height allows them to capture stronger, steadier winds. That’s a dramatic increase over the 89-foot installations common in the early 1990s.
Source: US Department of Energy. Hub height (the distance from the ground to the middle of the turbine’s rotor) over time.
A single utility-scale turbine, depending on size and wind conditions, can generate enough electricity to power hundreds or even thousands of homes each year.
In the US, developers deploy wind power in three main ways: distributed, onshore, and offshore applications.
Distributed wind: These smaller-scale turbines, ranging from 1 kW to 10 MW, are typically installed behind the meter to directly supply electricity to homes, farms, schools, or businesses. As of 2023, the US had approximately 1,110 MW of distributed wind capacity from more than 92,000 installations spread across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and every US territory.
Source: Distributed Wind Market Report: 2024 Edition
Onshore wind: The average size of these land-based turbines is 3.4 MW. That number is steadily climbing as rotor diameters have grown from an average of 380 feet to approximately 438 feet in the past few years. Developers often group onshore turbines into farms, installing them in rural or open areas with strong gusts. By the end of 2023, the US had more than 150 GW of installed onshore wind capacity.
Offshore wind: Offshore turbines capture strong, consistent winds over bodies of water. Individual models can range from 6 MW to over 14 MW and are typically installed either on fixed-bottom platforms anchored directly to the seabed in shallow waters, or on floating platforms tethered to the ocean floor in deeper waters.
Wind power offers several benefits that make it one of today’s most attractive energy sources:
Wind turbines face several challenges that affect their design, installation, and operation:
Onshore wind is now among the most affordable sources of new power, and the number of farms across the US continues to grow. Today, more than 73,000 turbines are operating nationwide, generating enough electricity to power 46 million homes.
In 2024, US wind generation reached 453.5 TWh, accounting for roughly 10% of the country’s total electricity production.
Utility-scale farms vary in size, from dozens to hundreds of turbines. For example, the Traverse Wind Energy Center in Oklahoma has 998 MW of capacity spread across 356 turbines, making it one of the largest installations in the US. There are utility-scale installations in 43 states, with 23 states exceeding 1 GW (1,000 MW) of wind capacity as of the end of 2023. Seven states have surpassed 5 GW.
Source: Land-Based Market Report 2023 Edition, US Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office
Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa lead the country in land-based wind capacity. Texas is also the leader in new installations, adding 1,323 MW in 2023. Illinois ranked second with 928 MW. Twelve states now derive more than 20% of their electricity from breezes.
Looking ahead, more than 1,000 projects wait in US interconnection queues, totaling more than 275 GW of capacity as of August 2025.
Source: Yes Energy’s Infrastructure Insights showing on and offshore developments
Currently, there are four offshore wind farms operating in the US.
However, the industry is facing several challenges due to shifts in federal policy, which are slowing construction and planning.
Offshore installations, in particular, have been impacted in recent months. The 704 MW Revolution Wind project, located off Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the 810 MW Empire Wind project, located off New York, are currently under construction.
Both projects have been affected by federal regulatory reviews, which have caused pauses in construction at various points. The Revolution Wind project is 80% complete and has sued to lift a federal stop-work order.
In addition, the Department of Transportation has ended $679 million in funding commitments for a dozen port and shoreline infrastructure projects planned to serve the offshore sector.
Meanwhile, Yes Energy’s Infrastructure Insights is tracking more than 23 GW of offshore projects in the interconnection queue.
Source: Yes Energy’s Infrastructure Insights showing offshore projects in the interconnection queue
Yes Energy’s Infrastructure Insights platform provides a nationwide view of energy development, capturing key project details – who’s building, what’s being built, when it’s coming online, where it’s located, and why it matters. Whether an installation has just been announced, is in development, is under construction, or is already operating, the system tracks it all.
As information becomes publicly available, Infrastructure Insights’ interactive map allows you to easily filter and visualize information like project name, owner, locations, expected capacity, number of turbines, interconnection details, power purchase agreements, and a comprehensive description. The map reveals emerging hotspots and development trends across the US.
Source: Yes Energy’s Infrastructure Insights showing all types of energy projects under development
In addition, Yes Energy’s EnCompass is a comprehensive planning model that lets you model future energy scenarios, forecast prices, assess grid congestion, and analyze generator performance. Utilities and energy traders rely on it to evaluate how new generation will affect electricity markets and grid reliability.
EnCompass identifies potential challenges, like congestion or overloads, at the transmission line, substation, power plant, and bus levels. With these insights, decision-makers can determine where to site new generation and how to price power in shifting market conditions.
For developers, EnCompass is invaluable for site selection. By modeling expected load across candidate locations, it enables comparison based on priorities such as securing interconnection or maximizing access to transmission capacity for their projects.
Beyond current infrastructure, EnCompass also supports future-looking scenarios. You can test the impact of proposed assets – like new transmission lines or generation facilities – on power delivery to a given site.
You don’t have to stop there.
Storms or strong gusts can have major power grid and price impacts as well. If you’re trading or operating near a wind farm or during a severe weather incident, you can track wind-driven constraints, curtailments, and congestion using our low-latency power market data.
Example: Live Power generation data can be combined with transmission constraint information to visualize when wind farms (Thunder Ranch in Oklahoma) drive congestion on the system.
Source: Yes Energy’s Live Power and PowerSignals
Ready to see the impact of new or proposed developments near your trading or operating location? Contact our team to discover how our data and modeling solutions can enhance your simulations and facilitate better direction.
About the author: Laura Fletcher is on the Yes Energy product team as an associate product manager. Prior to joining the team, Laura studied environmental engineering at Georgia Tech. She started working with energy data as a college intern and she has worked on various consulting projects, annual market forecasts, client relations, and database management.