The U.S. wind industry had its strongest first quarter since 2009, adding nearly four times the capacity installed in the first quarter of 2016. Developers installed 908 utility-scale for a total of 2,000 megawatts of capacity. These installations coincide with the upcoming reduction in the value of federal Production Tax Credit for wind projects, which will drop by 20 percent each year for projects that start construction from 2017 through 2019. Xcel Energy Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy, Alliant Energy Corp, and DTE Energy Co. were responsible for nearly all of the recent utility wind capacity additions. Top installation locations in the first quarter included Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Michigan.

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