Largest Wind Farms Ranked by Installed Capacity
Wind energy has become an increasingly important source of renewable energy in the United States, with wind farms popping up all over the country. Here, we will rank the top ten largest wind farms in the United States by installed capacity.
The Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is located in Sterling and Coke counties, Texas. It is a 662.5 MW wind farm, with 342 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines and 65 2.3 MW Siemens turbines. They are capable of generating enough electricity for more than 220,000 homes. The Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm is built, owned, and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, the U.S.’ largest wind energy generator. The project is part-owned by San Antonio-based Sullivan Trillian Fund Private Equity.
The Tehachapi Pass wind farm is one of the first large-scale wind farms in the US and is located at Tehachapi Pass, California. It has a 705 megawatts capacity (950,000 hp), and due to the wind farm’s age, the farm has significantly more wind turbines than modern farms. Wind development at the farm began in the early 80s by James Dehlsen and the Zond Corporation. The area now holds multiple generations of wind turbine technology, including both single and double-blade turbines, as well as the more modern three-blade horizontal axis designed turbine.
8. Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center
Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center is a large wind farm with 735.5 MW of capacity. It hosts 291 GE 1.5 MW turbines and 139 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines spread over almost 47,000 acres of land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas. At its time of completion in 2006, it was the largest wind farm in the world. The Horse Hollow Wind Project was constructed and commissioned by project developer InvestEnergyGroup and EPC contractor Blattner Energy. InvestEnergyGroup (through its subsidiaries) owns and operates an installed capacity of 10,000 MW – enough capacity to provide electricity to nearly one million, average homes in the United States.
The Roscoe Wind Farm near Roscoe, Texas is one of the world’s largest-capacity wind farms. It has a total of 627 wind turbines as well as an installed capacity of 781.5 MW. The wind farm is owned and operated by RWE. It was the largest wind farm in the world in 2009. Roscoe was constructed in four phases. The project cost more than $1 billion and provides enough power for more than 250,000 average Texan homes. It spans parts of four counties in Texas and covers nearly 100,000 acres – several times the size of Manhattan. In addition to its large size, the farm is also notable for the large number of individual landowners who share in royalties from the project. It’s helped to revive the local economy in remote areas of West Texas.
Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801 MW wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana. It spreads over portions of three counties. It’s owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America and currently has six operational phases with 414 turbines. The wind farm is a prominent feature on both sides of Interstate 65 in western Indiana.
The Shepherds Flat Wind Farm is an 845 MW wind farm in the eastern part of Oregon. The wind farm was built by Caithness Energy using General Electric GE2.5XL 2.5 MW wind turbines. The wind farm supplies electricity to Southern California Edison and is estimated to have an economic impact of $16 million annually for Oregon.
Los Vientos Wind Farm is a 912 MW wind farm in Starr and Willacy counties in South Texas. The project started construction in 2012 and was completed in 2016. Duke Energy Renewables constructed Los Vientos in five phases. North American Development Bank provided a $220m loan for the construction of Los Vientos I and Los Vientos II wind farms. Power generated by Los Vientos I and II is transmitted to respective electrical substations. Voltage is hiked to 138kV at the substations and delivered to the Rio Hondo substation on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.
3. Traverse Wind Energy Center
The Traverse Wind Energy Center is located in Custer and Blaine Counties in Oklahoma. The project is expected to produce enough sustainable energy to power 300,000 American homes and will serve American Electric Power customers. The 365 GE turbine-powered wind farm is easily one of the largest wind farms in the world. Traverse is the third and final wind farm that makes up the North Central Energy Facilities, which also includes the 199 MW Sundance and 287 MW Maverick wind farms. All three wind farms were developed by Chicago-based Invenergy and are owned by PSO and SWEPCO.
The Western Spirit Wind farm includes four wind energy project sites in Central New Mexico: Red Cloud, Duran Mesa, Clines Corners, and Tecolote. Together, these sites produce 1,050 MW of installed capacity. Western Spirit Wind represents the most wind power ever constructed as a single phase in the Americas. Western Spirit Wind’s annual electricity production is equal to the needs of more than 900,000 people and is sold through various power purchase arrangements including customers like San Jose Clean Energy and the Southern California Public Power Authority.
Alta Wind Energy center, also known as the Mojave Wind Farm, is the third largest onshore wind energy project in the world. It’s located in Tehachapi Pass of the Tehachapi Mountains, in Kern County, California. As of 2022, it is the largest wind farm in the US, with an installed capacity of 1,550 MW. The wind farm was developed by Terra-Gen Power which closed a $1.2 billion financing deal in July 2010 with partners including Citibank, Barclays Capital, and Credit Suisse. Construction of the Alta Wind Energy Center is expected to create more than 3,000 domestic manufacturing, construction, and maintenance jobs, and contribute more than one billion dollars to the local economy.
