The US Wind Industry Is Coming Back

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Almost the entire US wind industry went into hibernation after US President Donald Trump took office in January, sending thousands of good paying jobs down the drain. However, the wind will continue to blow long after January 20, 2029, when the current occupant of the White House is scheduled to leave office — peacefully this time, one hopes. Knowing that, some industry stakeholders continue to hold the torch for wind power until the ship of US energy policy sails out of the doldrums.

A Sign Of Life For The US Onshore Wind Industry

One particularly interesting news item surfaced on July 17, when the leading Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas announced a new 527-megawatt order for its Vestas-American Wind Technology branch, as part of its Q3 intake. The company disclosed no further details except to note that the order was for its V150 4.5-megawatt turbines. The procurement package included a 5-year service agreement followed by a 5-year operational support period.

Vestas issued an even briefer Q3 update on August 11, when it stated that “Vestas is proud to have received orders for 950 MW in the USA for undisclosed projects.” That’s all they had to say on the topic. Not a peep on the turbine specs or post-installation agreements.  Vestas didn’t even specify if the new orders onshore or offshore wind farms, though the news organization 4C Offshore ascribes the new turbines to Vestas’s onshore wind business.

“Vestas did not disclose project specifics, but the orders come as the US onshore wind sector shows signs of recovery after a sluggish first half of 2025,” 4C noted.

Wind Repowering To Thwart Wind Foes

As for where those “signs of recovery” may be seen, that’s a good question. One answer is the onshore wind repowering business. The US has been putting up utility-scale wind farms since developers discovered ripe conditions in California’s Altamont pass back in the 1980s. Older wind farms, including those of more recent vintage, are targets for upgrading with today’s generation of more efficient turbines. In some cases, a repowering project can deliver as much or more capacity with fewer turbines.

The Trump administration has indicated its intent to throw the hammer down on any and all new onshore wind farms in the US. However, existing sites have already passed through the zoning and permitting. Efforts to extend their lifespan through repowering have a fairly good chance of dodging anti-wind measures.

Keep an eye on Vestas’s repowering business for signs that its Q3 wind turbine intake will not be left hanging. Last year, for example, Vestas provided its 2-megawatt V110 wind turbines to repower the North Allegheny wind farm in Pennsylvania.

More recently, in March Vestas announced a 172-megawatt order for its V117 4.2-megawatt turbines, slated for the Mount Storm Phase 2 repowering project in Grant County, West Virginia. The turbines will be operating in 4.3-megawatt mode.

Mount Storm began turning out the clean kilowatts in 2008. The current developer, Clearway Energy, notes that the $735 million repowering project will significantly reduce the number of turbines at the site, from 132 down to 78, while increasing the capacity of the wind farm from 264 megawatts to 335 megawatts.

US Offshore Wind Industry To Earth: I’m Not Dead Yet!

The US offshore wind industry is much more vulnerable to disruption because it depends almost entirely on federal lease areas. The exceptions are minor, one example being a pair of offshore sites in state-controlled waters in Louisiana.

With willing enablers on the Republican side of the aisle in Congress, the White House has been free to reduce the existing federal lease program to a shell of its former self. That includes clawing back existing permits and double-guessing state approval processes as well as forbidding new lease auctions.

Still, the offshore wind industry continues to tread water. Construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind project in New York was briefly halted, only to be restarted following a series of personal chats between Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The White House has also enabled the massive CVOW offshore wind farm in Virginia to continue apace, thus avoiding an embarrassing situation for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has vociferously supported the project.

The Return Of The US Wind Industry

In another interesting development, the newly formed 50-50 offshore wind joint venture between bp and Jera could help the proposed Beacon 1 and 2 projects in Massachusetts keep a lease in hand until the day comes — and it will come — when the federal lease program resumes.

The 925-megawatt Sunrise Wind project in New York also still has a pulse. The leading Danish energy firm Ørsted reportedly tried to divest itself of the project, but was unable to do so. This week the company dropped word that it will go ahead and raise $9.33 billion to complete the project on its own.

As for the onshore wind industry, one area to watch is the distributed wind market. As defined by the US Department of Energy, distributed wind refers to turbines of any size that are used for onsite power generation, or for distribution to a local grid.

In a gentle reminder about the potential for growth in the distributed wind industry, on March 10, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory updated a web page describing the results of its 2022 market analysis. “Consistent with the 2016 study, NREL finds U.S. distributed wind has abundant economic potential, or the potential that would have a positive return on investment,” NREL explains. “Entire regions of the country could profitably provide hundreds of gigawatts today if deployed. In 2035, terawatts of capacity could be possible.”

That’s going to be an uphill climb, but as of this writing the lab is still moving forward with the latest iteration of its ongoing distributed wind Competitiveness Improvement Project in support of domestic manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbines, with 1 megawatt being the cutoff for a CIP award.

“The distributed wind energy industry requires rapid innovation to reduce costs and increase customer confidence, but many companies that build small- and medium-sized wind turbines lack the resources to develop, certify, and commercialize next-generation technology,” NREL notes. “CIP awards cost-shared subcontracts and technical support to manufacturers.”

CIP awards support turbine design optimization and advanced manufacturing assistance, in addition to providing manufacturers with technology, testing, and certification support. “Cost reductions, more reliable technologies, and consumer-friendly business models are making distributed energy generation more accessible to businesses and consumers interested in producing their own electricity,” the lab observes.

Good luck with that! Historically, farms across the Great Plains and elsewhere have proved fertile ground for the US wind industry, but times have changed.

Photo: The US wind industry is on life support for the time being, but some stakeholders have spotted opportunities to stay afloat until yet another abrupt shift in US energy policy occurs (courtesy of NREL).