Over the course of a decade, wind power in Maine grew from from producing virtually none of Maine’s electricity to becoming a major player in the market that produced roughly one-fifth of the state’s electric power in 2017.

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates that electric production from natural gas power plants, which have long been the state’s largest source of electric power, has declined significantly over the same time period. In fact, Maine’s wind farms produced more electricity than the state’s natural gas plants for several months during the winter and early spring of 2017.

Mouse over the charts below to view detailed figures:

Monthly wind power production in Maine, 2007-2018

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Interactive: Christian MilNeil

Maine’s major wind farms, by capacity and opening date

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
Interactive: Christian MilNeil

Note: this chart excludes smaller wind farms with a capacity of less than 5 megawatts, such as Fox Island Wind in Vinalhaven. A “megawatt-hour” is the cumulative amount of electricity produced from a 1-megawatt power plant running continuously for one hour. One “gigawatt-hour” is equivalent to 1,000 megawatt-hours, enough to power 300 typical Maine homes for a year.