Wind generation sets new records in Texas, Spain

The past few weeks have seen more new wind generation records in Texas and Spain, two areas where the clean energy source is providing a growing share of electricity production.

On March 18, wind 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, 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 generation hit 7,925 MW. During that day's peak hour, wind 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 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 capacity is 21,674 MW, or roughly twice that of Texas.

Related articles:

New technology helps Texas system operator blow through wind generation records, March 12, 2012
Wind tops 25 percent of load on main Texas grid, March 5, 2012
Across the U.S., wind power sets new generation records, February 13, 2012

 

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