US poised to claim global wind title

America has overtaken Germany as the world's largest generator of wind energy, according to new figures from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

The Guardian reports today that the AWEA is set to release the results of a new survey suggesting that the higher average wind speeds enjoyed by Texan, Californian and Mid Western wind farms mean that the country is now generating more wind energy than current global leader Germany.

The report claims that with 22,000MW in place Germany still has greater installed capacity than the US, which had just 17,000MW at the end of last year. But the AWEA claims that higher wind speeds mean the country is generating more energy.

It also claimed that it is fast closing the gap in terms of installed capacity, with the US adding 6,000MW of new turbines this year, compared to just 1,600MW in Germany.

Speaking to the Guardian, AWEA executive director Randy Swisher said that claiming the title as the world's largest generator of wind power would mark an important milestone, as it should encourage greater investment in building manufacturing capacity in the US.

"What matters is that the wind industry around the world recognises that the US is the largest market," he said, adding that many of the world's biggest manufacturers of turbines are not US firms and that they should look to building manufacturing capacity in north America to better meet booming demand.

The news came in the same week as fresh reports emerged highlighting the scale of some of the wind farm projects now under way in the US.

Oregon this week gave the go-ahead for a 909MW wind farm in the north of the state, which is expected to come online in 2010 and power 200,000 homes and briefly hold the title of the world's largest wind farm, before oil billionaire T Boone Pickens' high-profile 4,000MW Texan project comes online in 2014.

Meanwhile, Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz has announced plans for a $3bn (£1.5bn) project to address the transmission problems posed by the development of US wind farms. His Anschutz Corp announced it had acquired the rights for a transmission network project designed to link a 2,000MW wind farm the company is building in Wyoming to markets in Las Vegas, Phoenix and southern California.