Reports of the demise of the clean energy industry have been, well, exaggerated (see "Global recession? Must be time for the media’s alternative-energy backlash").

The American Wind Energy Association reports:

The wind energy industry installed over 2,800 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in the first quarter of 2009, with new projects completed in 15 states and powering the equivalent of 816,000 homes....

The new wind power projects add up to 2,836 MW, according to initial AWEA estimates. The total wind power generating capacity in operation in the U.S. is now 28,206 MW, enough to serve over 8 million homes and avoid the emissions of 52 million tons of carbon dioxide annually—the equivalent of removing 8.8 million cars from the road.

And this is after a record 2008 (see “U.S. wind energy grows by record 8,300 MW“). Here is where states now rank by wind capacity:

* Texas 7,907 MW
* Iowa 2,883 MW
* California 2,653 MW
* Minnesota 1,804 MW
* Washington 1,479 MW
* Oregon 1,363 MW
* New York 1,261 MW
* Colorado 1,068 MW
* Kansas 1,014 MW

California third? Who ever would have imagined?

Indiana remains the fastest growing state with a large 400-MW project was brought online. The states with the most rapid growth in wind capacity in Q1:

* Indiana 75%
* Maine 55%
* Nebraska 53%
* Idaho 49%
* New York 34%

Is any other part of the energy industry adding capacity and jobs like wind? Looks like it is still braggin’ time for wind!

This piece originally appeared in Climate Progress.

Photo credit: flickr/indywriter, Creative Commons License.