In South Dakota, wind is one of our greatest and most plentiful resources. In fact, according to the latest numbers, the Mount Rushmore State is listed as the sixth windest state in America.

In fact, the state is getting set to put all of that wind to good use with the addition of 888 new electricity-producing turbines by the end of 2020.

That appears to be good timing as CNBC is reporting that wind generation in the United States has now surpassed hydroelectric generation for the first time, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Figures from the EIA’s “Electric Power Monthly” report show that yearly wind generation hit a little over 300 million megawatt hours (MWh) in 2019. This was roughly 26 million MWh more than hydroelectric production.

The EIA says in 2019 more than 300 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power. That makes up more than seven percent of all generated electrical energy in the United States.


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