In Texas, Wind Nears 10% of Electricity
January 28, 2014 | posted by The Institute
Source: earthtechling.com
By: Pete Danko
Wind power generation in Texas continued its steady upward march in 2013, and it’s now on the doorstop of 10 percent of the state’s electricity supply.
New data from grid operator ERCOT showed that wind provided 9.9 percent of Lone Star state electrical generation last year, up from 9.2 percent in 2012. The 9.9 percent share represents a doubling in five years – in 2008, wind was at 4.9 percent.
Wind owned a bigger slice of generation even though the pie grew, with Texans using 2.1 percent more electricity in 2013 compared to 2012. Wind’s share grew because the amount of wind generation rose by a whopping 9.7 percent, from 29,803,361 megawatt-hours to 32,705,373 MWh.
As a percentage of overall energy generation, wind did best in the spring months, including March, when its share peaked at 15.2 percent, but wind output actually was greatest in May, at 3,691,496 MWh. The low point in output was in September, at 1,711,160 MWh.
As the U.S. Energy Information Administration said recently, “Texas has added coal- and natural gas-fired capacity since 2011; however, the largest share of capacity growth has been from wind generators, mostly located in western Texas.” More is on the way from that region, too, thanks to new transmission that can handle up to 2,500 megawatts of power, moving it from the windy west to the big population centers.
As for solar, it doesn’t even get its own category on the ERCOT data sheets. However, that might be on the way to changing: In December, a 41-megawatt solar power plant began operation in San Antonio, and the plan is to build up to 400 MW there. That could help provide more electricity during the peak summer months when wind declines.
