Wind farm

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines that generate electricity in a common location. A wind farm may also be called a wind power station, a wind power plant, or a wind park. A wind farm may range from a few turbines with a combined capacity of a few megawatts (MW) to several hundred turbines with combined capacity in the thousands of MW. Most land-based wind farms in the United States range in capacity from 50 MW to 100 MW. In the United States almost all wind farms are located onshore, but in Europe a number of offshore wind farms are in operation.

An onshore wind farm in Scotland

An offshore windfarm in the North Sea off the coast of England

Wind farms are located based on the availability of wind resource measured by average wind speed, topography and potential barriers to wind, the availability of transmission lines to deliver the power to load centers, access for construction and maintenance, ownership of land, suitability of land use, and availability of permits.

Map of U.S. wind resources based on annual average wind speed (in meters per second) at 80 meters above the surface. Source: NREL.gov

As of 2020, the world’s largest (total capacity) wind farms are:

Jiuquan Wind Power Base, China	7,065 MW
Jaisalmer Wind Park, India	1,600 MW
Alta Wind Center, California, U.S.	1,548 MW
Muppandal Wind Farm, India	1,500 MW
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm, Oregon, U.S.	845 MW
Roscoe Wind Farm, Texas, U.S.	782 MW
Horse Hollow Wind Farm, Texas, U.S.	736 MW
Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm, Texas, U.S.	663 MW
Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, U.K.	659 MW
London Array Offshore Wind Farm, U.K.	630 MW