Wind energy had a huge year in 2012, representing 42 percent of all new electricity megawatts installed, according to a new industry report from AWEA. Wind energy represents a $25 billion investment of private capital for projects in the U.S. alone. Overall, total installation of wind power in the United States has surpassed 60 gigawatts. Texas and California led the industry in installations: Texas installed 1,826 megawatts and California installed 1,656 megawatts of wind in 2012. Bloomberg quotes AWEA's Chief Economist, Elizabeth Salerno:

“Wind is going to continue to be a major contributor as we add new power resources to our electricity grid in the U.S.,” Salerno said.