Oklahoma moves up to third place in state rankings for wind power

Oklahoma added almost 1,200 megawatts of wind capacity in the last three months of 2016 as it leapfrogged California to take third place among the states for wind capacity.

Among the new wind farms starting operations at the end of the year was Duke Energy Renewable's 200-megawatt Frontier Windpower project near Blackwell. The 61-turbine project will sell electricity to a city utility in Springfield, Mo., under a 22-year contract.

The American Wind Energy Association released its latest market report Thursday amid a policy discussion in Oklahoma over what to do with state incentives for wind generation and the possibility of a new tax on wind production proposed by Gov. Mary Fallin.

Oklahoma had 6,645 megawatts of wind capacity by the end of 2016 as it added 1,462 megawatts for the year, the association's fourth quarter report said. That's a 28 percent increase since the end of 2015.