According to the American Wind Energy Association's Second-Quarter Market Report, Texas' cumulative wind power capacity total now stands at 2,370 megawatts—enough to power more than 600,000 average American homes—followed by California's 2,323 megawatts. Texas edged ahead of California by adding a total of 375 MW, about half of the total amount installed in the country since the beginning of the year. California had previously led the nation unterruptedly for nearly 25 years, at one time hosting more than 80 percent of the wind capacity in the entire world.

Texas had slowly been creeping up on California these last few years, so taking the top spot was inevitable, wind energy consultants say. Mike Sloan, president of Austin-based Virtus Energy Research Associates, estimates about $2 billion will be invested in wind energy development statewide this year and about $4.5 billion nationwide. "Wind energy is a prudent hedging vehicle," Sloan said. "So many policy leaders around the country see the importance of energy diversity and how homegrown renewables make a lot of sense."

Next, Texas wants to be home to more than just the place with the most wind energy generation capacity, said Jerry Patterson, the state's land commissioner. Patterson said he believes Texas can be an industry hub, just as it has been for oil and natural gas. "We want this to be the place where the industry grows, where companies manufacture and assemble wind turbines," he said. "We have the skilled workforce and the locations to accomplish this."