Engineering Inc. - September/October 2019 - 11

U.S.
consumption
of wind energy
has increased
12 percent
since 2016,
according
to the
U.S. Energy
Information
Administration

Wind-generated electricity is pulling ahead as the leading
renewable source, according to a U.S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA) report, and the outlook for further
development is strong. EIA data from May 2019 shows
that wind-generated electricity provided 8 percent of total
electrical output. For the first time, all renewables (wind,
solar, and hydropower) collectively ranked in second place
among the major generating sources, providing more
electricity than either coal, nuclear or oil. Renewables were
only exceeded by natural gas.
According to EIA, wind capacity additions for 2019 are
expected to total 12.7 gigawatts (GW), which will exceed
capacity additions for the last six years, but fall just short of
the 2012 record of 13.3 GW.
For engineering firms, the scope of work included in wind
projects is not unlike other energy projects and includes
site assessments, surveys of land or sea beds, geotechnical
assessments, environmental surveys, and design plans for
construction, in addition to wind resource assessments.
U.S. consumption of wind energy has increased 12 percent
since 2016, according to the EIA report. Currently, the
largest wind energy producing state is Texas, accounting for
more than a quarter of the nation's production. The other top
wind producing states-which together with Texas produce
more than half of all wind energy-are Oklahoma, Iowa,
and Kansas. The following five states provided an additional
20 percent of 2018's wind energy: California, Illinois,
Minnesota, North Dakota, and Colorado.
Because of the geography of these states, the current
wind energy is not coming from offshore turbines. However,
many analysts expect that offshore wind production will
be responsible for the future growth of domestic renewable
energy.
States that comprise a portion of the East Coast-many
of which have aggressive renewable energy targets-are
10010
00100010001
00011101000110010
0010001000100011101
000110010001000100010
00111010001100100010001
0001000111010001100100
0100010001000111010001
1001000100010001000
11101000110010001
00010001000

Commercial &
Residential Real Estate

Commercial &
Residential Real Estate

Intermodal &
Logistics
Intermodal & Logistics

Health Care &
Science+Technology

Economic
Outlook

Energy & Utilities

Health Care &
Science+Technology

Energy &
Utilities
Annual Economic Outlook

Public-Private
Public-Private
Partnerships (P3s)
Partnerships (P3s)

ALIN MILITARU / GETTY IMAGES

Wind Energy Market
Growth Strong

attempting to catch up with offshore wind
energy development. According to McKinsey
& Co.'s June 2019 report, Building an Offshore
Wind Industry Along the U.S. East Coast: The
Role of State Collaboration, states from Maine to
South Carolina have committed to a combined
20 GW of offshore wind energy by 2035.
However, there are concerns that progress may
not be smooth.
For example, final permitting for the first
large-scale U.S. offshore wind project may be
uncertain. Two federal agencies are conflicted on
whether the proposed project, Vineyard Wind,
contains sufficient measures to protect the U.S.
fishing industry. The project is scheduled to
begin construction in 2019, 14 miles off the
coast of Massachusetts. If completed, the project
is expected to power 400,000 homes by 2021. n

The Private Side is a regular
department of Engineering Inc.,
focusing on the private-sector markets to
the left, and information and insights on
public-private partnerships and economic
data relevant to the industry. For more
on these topics, subscribe to ACEC's
bimonthly Private Industry Briefs: https://
programs.acec.org/industrybrief/.

Erin McLaughlin is ACEC's senior director of
private market resources. She can be reached at
emclaughlin@acec.org.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2019

ENGINEERING INC.

11
http://programs.acec.org/industrybrief/ http://programs.acec.org/industrybrief/
Engineering Inc. - September/October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - September/October 2019
