The Texas electric system has reached a new milestone, generating 12,238 MW of wind power on October 22 – the highest amount of the renewable electricity created on record, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Additions of new capacity for wind generation, as well as strong wind conditions and warm fall temperatures, are all noted as drivers for the new generation record, which breaks previous marks set on October 21 (11,950 MW), and September 13 (11,467 MW).
ERCOT notes that while their wind generators were running at a lower overall utilization of total generating capacity in September and October (75-81%) than the 83% mark set during the previous high period in February 2015, new wind power installations led to higher output. With more installations scheduled to come online in the near future, they do not expect the new record to stand for long. Wind installations in the U.S. have been growing through 2014 and into 2015, with over 4,000 MW of wind power installed from June 2014 through September 2015 in Texas alone. The expiration, renewal, and modification of the federal renewable energy production tax credit in 2014 is cited as the main reason for the large capacity increase.
Wind power doesn’t have to take up a lot of space, if you’re considering adding renewables to your building, check out this guide to compact turbines that can help you offset consumption.
