According to data released by the American Wind Energy Association, Installations surged 52% from 1.118GW in first quarter 2011. The US on 31 March had 48.611GW of utility-scale wind capacity installed across 38 states, second to China, led by Texas with 10.648GW.

The PTC is worth $0.022 per kWh, inflation-adjusted for a project’s first decade in operation.

"The last five years have been marked by unprecedented policy stability, and in response wind power has delivered," says AWEA chief executive Denise Bode.