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Virtually the complete US wind business went into hibernation after US President Donald Trump took workplace in January, sending 1000’s of excellent paying jobs down the drain. Nevertheless, the wind will proceed to blow lengthy after January 20, 2029, when the present occupant of the White Home is scheduled to go away workplace — peacefully this time, one hopes. Understanding that, some business stakeholders proceed to carry the torch for wind energy till the ship of US power coverage sails out of the doldrums.
A Signal Of Life For The US Onshore Wind Business
One notably fascinating information merchandise surfaced on July 17, when the main Danish wind turbine producer Vestas introduced a brand new 527-megawatt order for its Vestas-American Wind Know-how department, as a part of its Q3 consumption. The corporate disclosed no additional particulars besides to notice that the order was for its V150 4.5-megawatt generators. The procurement package deal included a 5-year service settlement adopted by a 5-year operational help interval.
Vestas issued a good briefer Q3 replace on August 11, when it acknowledged that “Vestas is proud to have acquired orders for 950 MW within the USA for undisclosed tasks.” That’s all they needed to say on the subject. Not a peep on the turbine specs or post-installation agreements. Vestas didn’t even specify if the brand new orders onshore or offshore wind farms, although the information group 4C Offshore ascribes the brand new generators to Vestas’s onshore wind enterprise.
“Vestas didn’t disclose challenge specifics, however the orders come because the US onshore wind sector reveals indicators of restoration after a sluggish first half of 2025,” 4C famous.
Wind Repowering To Thwart Wind Foes
As for the place these “indicators of restoration” could also be seen, that’s an excellent query. One reply is the onshore wind repowering enterprise. The US has been placing up utility-scale wind farms since builders found ripe situations in California’s Altamont cross again within the Nineteen Eighties. Older wind farms, together with these of more moderen classic, are targets for upgrading with at the moment’s technology of extra environment friendly generators. In some circumstances, a repowering challenge can ship as a lot or extra capability with fewer generators.
The Trump administration has indicated its intent to throw the hammer down on any and all new onshore wind farms within the US. Nevertheless, present websites have already handed by the zoning and allowing. Efforts to increase their lifespan by repowering have a reasonably good probability of dodging anti-wind measures.
Keep watch over Vestas’s repowering enterprise for indicators that its Q3 wind turbine consumption won’t be left hanging. Final 12 months, for instance, Vestas supplied its 2-megawatt V110 wind generators to repower the North Allegheny wind farm in Pennsylvania.
Extra not too long ago, in March Vestas introduced a 172-megawatt order for its V117 4.2-megawatt generators, slated for the Mount Storm Section 2 repowering challenge in Grant County, West Virginia. The generators will probably be working in 4.3-megawatt mode.
Mount Storm started turning out the clear kilowatts in 2008. The present developer, Clearway Power, notes that the $735 million repowering challenge will considerably scale back the variety of generators on the website, from 132 all the way down to 78, whereas rising the capability of the wind farm from 264 megawatts to 335 megawatts.
US Offshore Wind Business To Earth: I’m Not Useless But!
The US offshore wind business is way more weak to disruption as a result of it relies upon virtually totally on federal lease areas. The exceptions are minor, one instance being a pair of offshore websites in state-controlled waters in Louisiana.
With keen enablers on the Republican facet of the aisle in Congress, the White Home has been free to cut back the present federal lease program to a shell of its former self. That features clawing again present permits and double-guessing state approval processes in addition to forbidding new lease auctions.
Nonetheless, the offshore wind business continues to tread water. Development of Equinor’s Empire Wind challenge in New York was briefly halted, solely to be restarted following a collection of non-public chats between Trump and New York Governor Kathy Hochul. The White Home has additionally enabled the huge CVOW offshore wind farm in Virginia to proceed apace, thus avoiding an embarrassing scenario for Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, who has vociferously supported the challenge.
The Return Of The US Wind Business
In one other fascinating growth, the newly fashioned 50-50 offshore wind three way partnership between bp and Jera might assist the proposed Beacon 1 and a pair of tasks in Massachusetts hold a lease in hand till the day comes — and it’ll come — when the federal lease program resumes.
The 925-megawatt Dawn Wind challenge in New York additionally nonetheless has a pulse. The main Danish power agency Ørsted reportedly tried to divest itself of the challenge, however was unable to take action. This week the corporate dropped phrase that it’s going to go forward and lift $9.33 billion to finish the challenge by itself.
As for the onshore wind business, one space to observe is the distributed wind market. As outlined by the US Division of Power, distributed wind refers to generators of any dimension which are used for onsite energy technology, or for distribution to a neighborhood grid.
In a delicate reminder concerning the potential for progress within the distributed wind business, on March 10, the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory up to date an online web page describing the outcomes of its 2022 market evaluation. “According to the 2016 examine, NREL finds U.S. distributed wind has considerable financial potential, or the potential that will have a optimistic return on funding,” NREL explains. “Complete areas of the nation might profitably present lots of of gigawatts at the moment if deployed. In 2035, terawatts of capability could possibly be doable.”
That’s going to be an uphill climb, however as of this writing the lab continues to be shifting ahead with the most recent iteration of its ongoing distributed wind Competitiveness Enchancment Venture in help of home producers of small- and medium-sized wind generators, with 1 megawatt being the cutoff for a CIP award.
“The distributed wind power business requires speedy innovation to cut back prices and enhance buyer confidence, however many corporations that construct small- and medium-sized wind generators lack the sources to develop, certify, and commercialize next-generation know-how,” NREL notes. “CIP awards cost-shared subcontracts and technical help to producers.”
CIP awards help turbine design optimization and superior manufacturing help, along with offering producers with know-how, testing, and certification help. “Price reductions, extra dependable applied sciences, and consumer-friendly enterprise fashions are making distributed power technology extra accessible to companies and shoppers fascinated with producing their very own electrical energy,” the lab observes.
Good luck with that! Traditionally, farms throughout the Nice Plains and elsewhere have proved fertile floor for the US wind business, however instances have modified.
Photograph: The US wind business is on life help in the meanwhile, however some stakeholders have noticed alternatives to remain afloat till yet one more abrupt shift in US power coverage happens (courtesy of NREL).
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