Wind power now claims the top spot on America's clean energy ladder.
Turbines have overtaken hydropower dams as the largest single source of U.S. renewable electric capacity for the first time, new data shows.
At the end of 2016, the U.S. wind sector had nearly 82,200 megawatts in installed capacity, the American Wind Energy Associated (AWEA) announced on Thursday.
SEE ALSO:Coal-fired electricity is at its lowest since officials started keeping trackHydropower, by contrast, had roughly 80,000 megawatts in installed capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
"American wind power is now the #1 source of renewable capacity, thanks to more than 100,000 wind workers across all 50 states," Tom Kiernan, CEO of the wind advocacy group, said in a statement.
Credit: American wind energy associationThat makes wind energy the fourth-largest source of U.S. electric capacity, behind natural gas, coal and nuclear energy, respectively. Turbines now generate about 5.5 percent of the nation's electricity, enough to power roughly 24 million homes, according to AWEA.
But wind power hasn't surpassed hydropower in all categories.
When it comes to generation -- the actual amount of electricity that the plants produce -- hydropower is still in first place among renewables.
"It will likely still be a few years before [wind] overtakes hydro generation, because ... hydraulic turbines run more frequently throughout the year" than do wind turbines, said Colleen Regan, head of North America power and environmental markets at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The Hoover Dam's Arizona Intake Towers (L) and Nevada Intake Towers are shown on July 17, 2014 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which dropped to a historic low amid a major drought.Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images"Having said that," she added, "it does seem that the momentum is on the side of the wind industry."
While the wind sector added 8,500 megawatts in capacity last year, hydropower only grew by 396 megawatts, according to EIA data.
Regan noted that new hydropower facilities have a much longer and more difficult licensing process than other clean energy projects. Plus many of the best spots for dams and reservoirs are already taken.
"We're not likely to see this change within the next couple of years," she said.
Wind's capacity takeover is significant for advocates who view hydropower as a clean energy outsider.
Via GiphyMany U.S. dams were built decades ago, before states got serious about addressing climate change -- so they aren't exactly edging out old coal-fired power plants, the way that new wind and solar projects are. Building dams and reservoirs can also require disrupting surrounding ecosystems and, in some cases, forcing communities to move.
Even so, hydropower facilities produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions and water once they are constructed and, for now, is considered renewable.
Wind's rise to the top also follows a few uncertain years for the industry.
Wind power is now as cheap as coal-fired electricity in many places, but developers still rely on federal tax credits to help lower their costs and attract investors. Under the Obama administration, Congress allowed those tax credits to briefly expire, putting the industry in limbo.
Three of five wind turbines from the Deepwater Wind's offshore wind farm -- the first in the U.S. -- are seen near Rhode Island.Credit: AP PHOTO/MICHAEL DWYERCongress has since renewed the Production Tax Credit for wind projects and the Investment Tax Credits for solar projects. Those, combined with plunging technology costs for turbines and solar panels, have accelerated growth in both sectors.
It's still unclear whether this momentum will continue under President Donald Trump, experts say.
Trump and top members of his cabinet reject the mainstream scientific consensus that human activity is primarily to blame for global warming. The president has also vowed to revive the long-suffering U.S. coal industry and ramp up production of natural gas and oil.
When it comes to the tax credits, however, Trump isn't likely to interfere, said Tim Boersma, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy.
"A large chunk of the benefits are going to red states," he noted. Texas, for example, leads the country in installed wind energy capacity.
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