Wind Power Provides Half of the Electricity on a US Grid for the First-Time Ever

Wind power has managed to power more than 50 percent of the total electrical demand for a brief period just recently, according to fourteen-state SPP (Southwest Power Pool). This is the first time that something like this has ever happened on any of the North American power grids. That includes Canada!

Power Flow

SPP is the one that coordinates the flow of all electricity through the high voltage power lines from North Dakota and Montana all the way to Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico.

Wind power in this region has grown quite substantially in the last few years to more than 16,000 MW which is far more than then 400 MW which it was at during the early 2000s. It is expected to continue to grow at this rate in the future as well. Just so you understand the significance of this, one megawatt is able to power close to one thousand homes with ease.

The VP of Operations at SPP, Bruce Rew issued a statement after this achievement saying that around 10 years ago, they believed that if they could even hit 25 percent as far as wind-penetration is concerned, they would be extremely happy.

Anything more than that would result in a very serious threat to their reliability. But today, they have the ability to manage more than 50 percent of the electricity needed due to wind generation. This is not even where they set their ceiling.

Wind Power

Wind power had managed to briefly reach 52.1 percent at 4:30 am on Sunday which is the new record now. This milestone is almost 3 percent more than the previous record which was at 49.2 percent. Wind penetration is basically the measure of the total load which is served by the wind at all given times.

Currently, wind is considered the third largest source of electricity generation in the entire SPP region. It makes up for around 15 percent of the total capacity as of 2016. It is behind coal and gas as of now. This is the only time when wind was able to be more than 50 percent for a brief period of time as far as sources of electric power on US grids is concerned.

Coal could be making a comeback though because the irrational punishment that the Obama administration unleashed on them will be lifted by the amazing and pro-growth Trump team. On top of this, wind power is highly subsidized which could be ending soon so there is a level playing field and true economics can be displayed.

Rew said that when they had a generation footprint which was as large as theirs is, even if the wind was to stop blowing in the Great Plains, they have enough resources available to them in the Southwest and Midwest to cover up these sudden deficits. That is impressive!

Statistics

Out of the 11 states which have received more than 10 percent of their total electricity from wind during 2015, the top 5 states are Iowa which received 31 percent, South Dakota which received 25 percent, Kansas which received 24 percent, Oklahoma which received 18 percent, and North Dakota which also received 18 percent. All of these states are located on the SPP grid at least in part according to the information provided by the US EIA.

Some of the largest wind farms on the grid are currently being operated by EDP Energias de Portugal SA, NextEra Energy Inc., BP Plc, Sempra Energy, and Southern Co.

This is very impressive but if they were not subsidized, this could not be occurring. This is corporate welfare. Should the government be choosing one business over another? Electricity rates under the Obama administration increased for Americans. Most Americans would probably not agree to any subsidies if they knew they would have to pay more for it. Americans are taxed enough as it is! Americans wants lower monthly bills as well, not higher ones.