Report shows Oklahoma wind power grew in 2022 but solar power was another matter

 

A new national report on wind and solar power generated in the U.S. showed Oklahoma ranked second nationally for new wind power added in 2022, but its solar generation was stagnant.

The report by Climate Central shows national wind and solar capacity grew 16% last year compared to 2021. Getting political about it, Climate Central noted that Red States led the nation in such growth compared to Blue States.

The U.S. increase totaled more than 238 gigawatts in 2022, up nearly 13 GW from the previous year. At least 27% of the electricity was from solar projects while 73% was generated by wind farms. Combined, the total was 683,130 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

The report ranked Texas number one with the largest capacity for wind power in 2022 with 37,365 MW. Iowa ranked second with 12,259 MW and Oklahoma was third at 11,715 MW. Oklahoma’s wind capacity in 2021 was 10,412 MW.

When it came to the largest increase in MW of wind capacity from 2021 to 2022, Texas was first followed by Oklahoma with an addition of 1,303 MW.

The report also showed the 2022 value of electricity from wind generation in Oklahoma was $4,575,750,900.

Solar power was another matter in Oklahoma according to Climate Central. The 2022 solar capacity in the state was unchanged from 2021 and remained at 64 MW. Total solar generation in 2022 stood at 104,150 MWh compared to 102,118 MWh in 2021 and its value was $10,415,000.