Average U.S. construction cost for onshore wind generation decreased by 27% since 2013
U.S. onshore wind generating capacity increased 74% from 2013 to 2019 to a total of 104 gigawatts (GW), including 9.6 GW built in 2019. The average U.S. construction cost for onshore wind generators fell from $1,895 per kilowatt (kW) in 2013 to $1,391/kW in 2019, according to our latest construction cost data. However, wind capacity and construction costs vary significantly by region.
Average onshore wind construction costs for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages about 90% of Texas’s electric load, totaled $1,114/kW in 2019 and were less expensive than the U.S. average for that year. ERCOT installed the most wind capacity of any U.S. electricity market region in 2019 (3.5 GW) and also had the most total wind capacity (26 GW) as of December 2019. Favorable market conditions, wholesale prices, and geographic advantages contribute to lower construction costs in ERCOT.
