Wind Energy

Wind farm generation sets new records in Texas, Spain

On March 18, wind power topped out at 7,917 megawatts (MW) on the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) system, which covers the bulk of the Lone Star State. The day was a good one for wind energy, which averaged between 5,000 and 8,000 MW during each hour of the day, and 7,680 MW, or 21.6 percent, of the system’s energy during the hour of peak demand.

That record lasted for less than a month, before being edged out on April 13, when wind farm generation hit 7,925 MW. During that day’s peak hour, wind turbines averaged 6,544 MW, or 15.9 percent of the system’s peak load of 41,174 MW.

A few days later, wind power set a new record in Spain, generating 60.46 percent of that nation’s electricity at 3:48 a.m. on April 16. That mark also didn’t last for long–on April 19, wind energy gusted to 61.06 percent, according to the Spanish utility system operator REE, maxing out at 15,388 MW that afternoon and remaining above 11,500 MW all day. The week also saw a new record for daily production, on April 18, of 317 million kilowatt-hours. Spain’s installed wind farm capacity is 21,674 MW, or roughly twice that of Texas.

Tom Gray, www.awea.org/blog