With a key federal tax incentive about to expire, the U.S. installed a 5.5 gigawatts of wind power in December to cap off a year that saw a record 13.2 gigawatts of wind energy come online, according to a report released Friday by research firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The U.S. now boasts a total of 60 gigawatts of wind energy, accounting for 6% of the nation’s total generating capacity.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, wind power prices have dropped more than 21% since 2010. Falling prices and the looming expiration of the production tax credit, which pays a premium for wind energy, unleashed a wind farm building boom last year.
“It’s clear that the economics, aided by the PTC, drove wind growth in 2012,” Amy Grace, a wind analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in a statement. “Eleven gigawatts of capacity was built in states without any near-term state mandated demand.