WIND BREAKS MORE RECORDS: TEXAS

Wind generation records fall in Texas…

Tom Gray, February 22, 2013 (Wind Energy Weekly)

“…[T]he increased generating capacity installed last year continues to make its presence felt…On February 9, a strong weekend cold front that brought needed rain to much of Texas also propelled the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the utility system serving most of the state, to a new wind power record, with wind generation providing 9,481 MW of power at 7:08 p.m…

“Under typical conditions, 1 MW of electricity can power approximately 800 average American homes…The wind generation provided nearly 28 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT at the time and easily surpassed--by 814 MW, or nearly 10 percent--the previous record of 8,667 MW set on January 29…”

click to enlarge

“…7,205 megawatts (MW) came from West Texas…1,620 MW came from the Texas Gulf Coast…431 MW came from North Texas…225 MW came from South Texas…ERCOT has more than 10,400 MW of commercial wind power capacity, with the addition of 372 MW in December. Wind power comprised 9.2 percent of total energy used in the ERCOT region in 2012, compared to 8.5 percent in 2011.

“The completion of the remainder of the high-voltage transmission projects in the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones by the end of 2013 will continue to improve ERCOT’s ability to move wind power from West Texas to the metropolitan areas where demand on the grid is highest…”

Tweet