US Wind Energy Is Breaking Records

Wind energy is breaking records across the U.S., thanks to long-needed transmission upgrades that are relieving congestion on the power grid and allowing more clean energy to reach consumers. Last week, a new record was set on the main Texas grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), reaching over 10,000 MW of wind.  This was the most ever for a U.S. power system, the equivalent of powering more than five million average Texas homes.  In two previously unreported records, wind energy supplied a record 39.7% of total ERCOT electricity demand this past Monday, March 31, and two weeks ago the Southwest Power Pool region just to the north of Texas set a new wind record with 7,202 MW of wind production.

Nationwide, AWEA’s forthcoming U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report Year Ending 2013 finds up to 60,000 MW of new wind energy development would be enabled by major transmission projects that are in advanced stages of development.  Texas is the national leader in wind energy in part because it has been a leader in creating policies that enable private sector investment in and open access to an expanded transmission grid.  Michael Goggin, Senior Electric Industry Analyst for AWEA, explained “broadly allocating the cost of transmission is key, as the large reliability and economic benefits of a strong transmission grid are broadly spread and a strong grid is essential for maintaining a competitive electricity market.”

US Wind Energy Is Breaking Records