New Wind Data Finds a Windier, More Self-Reliant Midwest

Five Midwest states (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio) could get nearly all their electricity from wind, according to updated maps from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR). New data from Wind Powering America mean that 32 states could get all of their electricity from in-state resources, even more than initially revealed in ILSR's ground-breaking report last fall, Energy Self-Reliant States. The revised estimates come from the National Renewable Energy Lab's Wind Powering America project and are the first nationwide update since the early 1990s.

Armed with the new data, ILSR researchers have updated the full-color maps of state-by-state renewable energy potential, and an interactive comparison of the new and old data is available on ILSR's New Rules Project website. The revised figures are dramatic enough to boost the five Midwest states mentioned to near total self-reliance on wind power.

The first figure illustrates the dramatic change in the data from the original wind estimates.

These following two figures show the new data in comparison to the old. The image in place is the new data. Placing the cursor over the images will show the old data.