Wind power in Indiana

Wind power in Indiana was limited to a few small water-pumping windmills on farms until 2008 with construction of Indiana's first utility-scale wind power facility, Goodland (phase I) with a nameplate capacity of 130 MW. As of March 2024, Indiana had a total of 2,743 MW of wind power capacity installed, ranking it 12th among U.S. states. Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.

The main utility-scale development up to 2016 had been in the northwest part of the state in Benton, White, and Jasper counties. As of May 2017, Fowler Ridge Wind Farm was completed and has a final nameplate capacity of 750 MW, making it the Midwest's largest wind farm, and one of the largest in the world. Wind energy growth in Indiana continues, with 15 projects currently online, continually increasing the total installed capacity of the state.

Installed capacity and wind resources

The following table compares the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Indiana and the entire United States from 2007 through 2019.

Year Indiana US 2007 0 16,907 2008 130.5 25,410 2009 1,036 34,863 2010 1,339.2 40,267 2011 1,340 46,916 2012 1,543 60,005 2013 1,544 61,1072014 1,745 65,8802015 1,895 74,4712016 1,895 82,1712017 2,117 89,0782018 2,317 96,4872019 2,317 105,5832020 2,968 122,478

As of 2017, the state of Indiana ranks 12th in installed wind capacity and number of wind turbines with 1,897 MW and 1,096 turbines, respectively. Together, these yield 4.82% of the total in-state electricity production (~4,368,000 MWh or enough to power ~453,000 homes). To put this number into perspective, Indiana consumed 104.514 TWh of electricity in 2015. However, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory predicts wind energy growth in Indiana, stating the wind potential (from turbines with an 80 m hub height) could reach levels upwards of 40,259 MW by 2030. This predicted potential growth is starting to materialize, with 15 wind projects currently online in the state.

Indiana also has some offshore wind resources in the shallows of Lake Michigan along its shoreline. However, offshore wind power development is far behind onshore development in the United States generally, because onshore development is cheaper and the United States has an abundance of suitable onshore sites to develop. As of 2026, Indiana has no offshore wind farms.

Wind generation +Indiana wind generation in 2015 Indiana wind generation (GWh, million kWh) Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2008 239 26 27 18 14 17 37 43 57 2009 1,404 49 109 133 161 94 69 43 64 45 145 220 272 2010 2,935 271 187 225 316 221 157 119 91 246 342 396 364 2011 3,286 315 390 377 429 270 203 82 83 164 246 432 295 2012 3,211 416 307 374 386 212 184 113 94 162 328 242 394 2013 3,481 450 276 334 396 303 184 138 92 155 297 449 405 2014 3,495 415 252 323 388 304 190 167 101 158 325 507 366 2015 4,516 411 413 424 425 365 272 176 165 214 517 554 580 2016 4,898 656 572 510 451 402 279 164 148 241 460 477 538 2017 5,090 476 484 521 515 429 349 179 171 228 523 587 628 2018 5,438 768 512 617 465 423 276 223 260 272 518 508 596 2019 6,217 663 594 649 712 498 427 260 232 346 562 545 729 2020 6,287 632 596 651 633 505 366 194 162 357 581 800 810 2021 7,899 661 722 894 723 588 576 350 360 660 621 807 937 2022 9,767 956 1,023 1,037 1,012 854 554 469 416 504 909 1,054 979 2023 2,976 905 969 1,102

Teal background indicates the largest wind generation month for the year.

Green background indicates the largest wind generation month to date.

Source:

As this graph indicates, Indiana generally tends to have more steady wind from fall to spring months, evidenced by the fact that even in southern Indiana, wind chill is a common factor of outside conditions. October and November, for example, often see large variances in temperature, causing more days of strong gusty winds, thereby generating more wind electricity production. The same happens in March and April. However, often in the summer months, the air tends to stagnate, resulting in less wind electricity production.

Wind farms

The following table of wind farms and utility-scale wind power developments uses data from the AWEA, the State of Indiana, and other sources. For the larger projects constructed in phases, the table lists separate information for each phase. The name of each wind farm is the one used by the energy company when referring to it. The "wind farm" suffix is implied and hence removed for brevity. For more details and references for each wind farm, see its article.

Wind farm County(s) Coordinates Turbine model Power per turbine (MW) No. of turbines Total nameplate capacity (MW) Online Developer Operator Power purchaser Benton County phase I Benton GE sl/sle Gen4 1.5 87130.52008-04Orion Energy Orion EnergyDuke, Vectren Black River Gibson, Posey 65 (proposed) Fowler Ridge phase I Vestas Benton Vestas V82 1.65 182 300.32009-04BP, DominionBP, DominionAEP, Dominion Fowler Ridge phase I Clipper Benton Clipper 2.5 2.5 40 100 2009-04 BP, Dominion BP, Dominion AEP, Dominion Fowler Ridge phase II Benton GE sl/sle Gen4 1.5 133 199.5 2009-12 BP, Dominion BP, Dominion AEP, VectrenHeadwaters Randolph Vestas V110 2 100 200 2014-12EDP Renewables North AmericaEDP Renewables North AmericaIndiana Michigan PowerHeadwaters IIRandolph13 x Vestas 136 36 x Vestas 1503.6/4.2491982021EDP Renewables North AmericaEDP Renewables North America Hoosier Benton REpower 2 53 106 2009-08IPL, enXcoIPL, enXcoIPL Indiana Crossroads I White Vestas V150 4.2 72 302.4 2021-12EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCOEDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO Indiana Crossroads II White Nordex N155 4.8 42 201.6 2023-12EDP Renewables North America, NIPSCOEDP Renewables North America, NIPSCO Jordan Creek Benton, Warren GE 2.3, 2.52, 2.6, 2.82 2.3, 2.52, 2.6, 2.82 146398.682020-12NextEra NextEraNIPSCO Meadow Lake phase I White Vestas V82 1.65 121 199.65 2009-10 Horizon Wind Energy EDP Renewables North America AEP, wholesale market Meadow Lake phase II White Acciona 1.5 66 99 2010-06 Horizon Wind Energy EDP Renewables North America Meadow Lake phase III White GE 1.5 69 103.5 2010-10 Horizon Wind Energy EDP Renewables North America Meadow Lake phase IV White Suzlon 2.1 47 98.7 2010-10 Horizon Wind Energy EDP Renewables North America Prairie Breeze Tipton 1.6 94 (cancelled) Juwi Rosewater White VestasV136 and V150 3.6 and 4.2 25 102 2020-11 NiSource EDP Renewables North America/NIPSCO NIPSCO Union City/Randolph Eastern School Corporation Randolph Nordic Windpower 1 2 2 2010-02 Performance Services Union City, Randolph Eastern School Corporation AEP Wildcat phase I Madison, Tipton GE 1.6 125 200 2012-10 E.ON E.ON AEP Wildcat phase II Grant, Howard 40–60(proposed) E.ON Wildcat phase III Tipton 40–75(proposed) E.ON Wildcat phase IV Tipton(proposed) E.ON

Single-unit turbines In addition to the above wind farms, single stand-alone units have also been built in multiple other locations, mostly at schools. Some of these units were placed to test the environment for future wind energy development.ams.confex.com/ams/pdfpapers/91911.pdf Location County Owner Wind speed (m/s) Power (Kw) Akron Kosciusko Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation 6.5 m/s (14.5 mph) 900 Middletown Henry Shenandoah School Corporation 900 Carthage Shelby 7.7 / 99m Haubstadt Gibson South Gibson School Corporation 6.1 / 99m Kokomo Howard Northwestern School Corporation 7.0 / 99m LaGrange LaGrange 7.0 / 99m Francesville Pulaski West Central School CorporationWest Central School Corporation 6.9 900

Environmental impact

According to the USDOE, each 1000 MW of wind power capacity installed in Indiana will annually save 1,684 million gallons of water and eliminate 3.1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

For comparison, Indiana emitted a total of 1,883 lbs/MWh of carbon dioxide in 2015.Emission rate 2007 epa.gov

Indiana lacked a renewable energy standard, unlike several other midwestern states: Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa. Nevertheless, Indiana's wind power development had outpaced that of Ohio and Michigan.

Government policies and initiatives The Indiana State government, along with the Federal Government, has put many incentives in place for the use of wind energy. The three main categories of incentives are utility, state, and federal.

Utility Utility incentives target customers who have their own small wind energy systems. These incentives consist of net metering and feed-in tariff (FIT) incentives. Net metering allows the utility company to track the energy the wind system produces, and customers can then use that energy as a credit on their bills. The FIT program, only adopted by the utility company Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), pays their customers per kWh of energy produced by their wind turbine, as opposed to offering a credit. Currently NIPSCO mandates a rate of $0.17/kWh for systems less than or equal to 100 kW and $0.10/kWh for systems 100 kW to 2 MW.

State State-level incentives consist of the Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption and Indiana Sales Tax Incentive for Electrical Generating Equipment. The renewable energy exemption states that the assessed value of any wind system installed after December 31, 2011, is eligible for property tax exemption pending the completion of state form 18865. The sales tax incentive states that the equipment used to produce renewable electricity are eligible for a sales tax exemption. The state of Indiana also implemented a voluntary Clean Energy Portfolio Standard (CPS) in May 2011. The CPS set a goal for the state to have 10% of its electric generation come from clean energy by 2025.

Federal

Federal incentives include the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Business Energy Investment Tax Credit, and the Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit. The REAP program provides grants to agricultural producers and rural businesses for projects that yield more energy efficiency and renewable energy. The Business Energy Tax Credit, as of September 18, 2017, is only available to large wind turbines (greater than 100 kW in capacity) and was set to expire on December 31, 2019. The credit is currently at a rate of 24% of invested expenditures with no credit cap. The Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit is similar to the Business Investment credit except only small turbines qualify (cannot exceed 100 kW). As of September 18, 2017, the tax credit was at 30% with no max. This credit was also set to expire on December 31, 2019.

Wind power in Indiana

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