OK Renewable Energy Goals Ahead of Schedule
Oklahoma is ahead of schedule in renewable energy goal, officials say
New wind projects have pushed the state’s renewable energy goal higher than the 15 percent target set for 2015.
By Paul Monies | Published: March 8, 2013
Helped by a year-end surge of completed wind projects, Oklahoma is well ahead of schedule for a state goal for renewable energy capacity.
The state’s renewable energy goal, passed in 2010, called for 15 percent renewable energy by 2015. Oklahoma came close to meeting that mark in 2011, with 14.5 percent.
More than 1,100 megawatts of wind power capacity came online last year in the state. Much of it was driven by a rush of projects spawned by uncertainty over the expiration of a crucial federal tax credit for electricity generated from renewable energy. Congress then extended the wind production tax credit until the end of 2013.
Oklahoma now ranks sixth in the nation for wind energy capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. The state was in eighth place in 2011.