Larger-rotored, taller-towered land turbine designs could bring power to some US states at a levellised cost of energy (LCOE) another 10-15% lower than the current average – at a time when wind is already outcompeting coal across the country, including in its biggest market, Texas, according to a new study.

Research at the Berkeley Lab in California found that there was a “double dividend” to installing the largest onshore models currently for sale, particularly in regions where heavy wind power penetration was “beginning to impose challenges” to a grid, that boosted the power’s wholesale market value and gained transmission, balancing, and financing benefits, together equalling a 10%–15% reduction in LCOE.