Texas wind generation hits record
A particularly windy Thanksgiving weekend across Texas helped set a new record for wind generation in the Lone Star State, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
On the afternoon of November 27, gusts along the Gulf Coast, the Texas Panhandle, and West Texas generated a combined 15,033 megawatts (MW) of wind energy, according to ERCOT officials. That’s a new record for the ERCOT system, and accounted for more than 45 percent of the state’s energy needs at the time.
“We saw high wind output throughout the day, ranging from just over 10,000 MW during the late night hours to this peak output during the noon hour,” said ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin. “Over the years, ERCOT has taken a number of steps, such as improving renewable generation forecasts, to allow us to operate the grid reliably on days like this.”
Of the total, more than 8,800 MW was produced from wind generation facilities in West and North Texas, while nearly 3,800 MW came from the Gulf Coast region, with another 2,300 MW coming from the Panhandle region. The portion of the load served by wind ranged from 35 percent to more than 46 percent, averaging nearly 41 percent throughout the day.
The month of November has been especially productive across Texas wind farms. The previous wind generation record of 14,122 MW was set just 10 days before, on November 17. ERCOT estimates wind generation totaled 137,300 MW a day in November, which is actually down from last year’s average of 145,980 MW.
Texas has led the nation in wind power, installing more than 18,000 MW across the state with another 5,000 MW under construction, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Wind power will make up at least 14.7 percent of electricity in Texas in 2016, compared to 11.7 percent in 2015, according to ERCOT.
Texas’ success in encouraging wind generation is largely due to its Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ), a $6.9 billion project aimed at encouraging development of wind energy across the state. Approved by the Texas legislature in 2005, the CREZ includes 186 projects including 345-kilovolt transmission lines spanning 3,600 miles, to dozens of substations, switches, and terminals.
Last week, Spanish wind energy giant Gamesa announced it had been awarded a supply agreement for 155 MW of wind turbines for a wind farm being developed in Fluvanna county by Terna Energy.
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