The US wind industry is still alive and kicking, however

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US President Donald Trump has targeted the country’s own domestic wind industry for destruction, costing thousands of businesses and many thousands of working families with it. Down, but not out. Wind will continue to operate after the current occupant of the White House (or what’s left of it) is scheduled for January 20, 2029, and wind stakeholders are already in a position to pick up the pieces.

The US wind industry is still moving along

Long before Trump took office earlier this year, the U.S. wind industry was already facing pushback from fossil fuel stakeholders and local residents. A growing number of counties have passed new restrictions on wind development in recent years, and Trump’s second term in office has faced an abrupt shift in federal policy to the threat of the offshore wind industry.

Still, the latest U.S. Wind Energy Monitor report from Wood Mackenzie and the Organization American Clean Power shows that the domestic wind industry still has enough wind in its sails to talk about surviving at least the next five years.

The new report covers H1 (first six months) 2025 and beyond. The H1 end of things is rather gloomy, with wind installations down 15% in 2024 compared to the same period. The record looks even worse on a quarterly basis. “The Q2 US wind market installed 593 megawatts (MW), down 60 percent from Q2 2024,” the new report notes.

However, moving out of H1 and into Q3, the coming months look bright. The new report projects that the U.S. wind industry is on track to install 3.8 gigawatts during the first nine months of 2025, surpassing the nine-month record of 2024.

“Despite the slowdown in Q2, activity is likely to pick up, with 51 percent of forecast capacity coming online in Q4, bringing the annualized total to 7.7 GW by 2025,” the report summarized.

The US wind industry is about to beat coal

The U.S. wind industry will be better positioned for future growth without an abrupt change in federal energy policy this year, but some projects will continue to work their way through the pipeline. The new report reaches an average figure for annual new wind capacity additions of 9.1 GW through 2029, with a total of about 46 GW through 2029.

As might be expected, the report expects new offshore wind farms to account for most of the additions at 35.5 gigawatts. Only 6 gigawatts will come from offshore wind. Retrofitting projects (upgrades to existing wind farms) will add another 4.5 GW. All together, the U.S. will land at 196.5 gigawatts of total wind power generation capacity.

In this context, in July, the US Energy Information Agency reported that the total operating capacity of coal-fired power plants in the US is currently 172 gigawatts. Along with several retirements, this number will drop to 145 GW by the end of 2028.

Even if the Trump administration succeeds in delaying scheduled coal retirements, wind capacity is certain to grow past the 172 gigawatt mark by 2029, if the new Wind Energy Monitor’s assessment is correct.

But… is it?

Cracks in the anti-wind wall

Maybe, maybe not. Leila García da Fonseca, director of Wood Mackenzie Research, notes that the current surge in activity comes from projects in the pipeline. Future proposals face tough ends, especially in foreign territory.

“Recent federal stop-work orders and regulatory uncertainty have disrupted the offshore wind sector, undermining an already fragile opportunity and exposing high investment risk in U.S. offshore wind development,” explains Garcia da Fonseca, although she confirms the accuracy of the five-year, 46 GW assessment.

To be fair enough, for better or worse, the AI ​​data center boom has lit a renewable energy fire under red-state policymakers on the legislative side and on the utility side as well. As with the solar industry, the U.S. wind industry has proven time and time again that it can bring more kilowatts online faster and less expensively than conventional power plants.

Examples of red state support for renewable energy go beyond U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), whose famous advocacy for the U.S. wind industry spans decades. In Nevada, for example, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo is pleading with the U.S. Department of the Interior to stop putting roadblocks in the way of the 6.2 gigawatt Esmeralda 7 group of solar projects. Citing his state’s impending data center boom, Lombardo’s request centers on a proposed transmission line that would also benefit wind developers.

Then there’s Indiana. A growing number of county governments in Indiana are pushing back against wind projects, solar projects or both. However, state leaders are eager to accommodate data center developers. The news organization, “is in their favor in the coming years, with energy demands increasing, particularly as a result of AI and the construction of data centers.” Indie Star Noted on October 20.

Republican Gov. Mike Brown has tapped his energy secretary to solve the problem. As reported Indie Starthe state plans to unveil a map aimed at de-risking wind and solar proposals, by steering developers toward counties with a track record of support for renewable energy.

Another example can be found in Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled state legislature, which is notorious for blocking wind projects in the early 2000s. The race for the data center business has flipped the script. Now the state will be home to two new wind projects. The two new wind farms are the first such approvals in nearly 15 years, by the green-lit Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

More signs of a renewable energy rebound

The southeastern region of the United States does not benefit from optimal wind conditions. Louisiana, though, is low-key in its pursuit of offshore wind potential. Georgia’s leading utility is also poised to take advantage of new turbines designed for high-speed winds in the Southeast. On July 15, the utility released a new Integrated Resource Plan that includes new renewable energy commitments of up to 4,000 megawatts by 2035, along with new energy storage additions.

Then there’s Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin. Earlier this year Youngkin vetoed two bipartisan bills supporting small-scale clean energy projects, but he has been a consistent supporter of the massive 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia offshore wind project. Kivo is one of the few projects in the window to avoid the Trump helicopter, though that could change. Polling shows that a Democrat will take over the governor’s office when the term-limited Youngkin looks set to expire after Election Day in November, leaving CVOW exposed to the same partisan attacks that have dogged beach projects in Democratic-led states.

For that matter, polling also indicates that Democratic candidates will hold a majority in the US House of Representatives after Election Day 2026. If and when that happens, the House will probably assume its duties as a separate but co-equal branch with oversight authority as a check on the overreaching executive by the presidency.

If you have any thoughts about this, leave a note in the comment thread. Better yet, find your representatives in Congress and tell them what you think.

Image: US wind industry capacity additions (Crop, courtesy of Wood Mackenzie/American Clean Power via email).