For the first time, wind power beats coal and nuclear power generation for a day in a new record

20 July, 2022

The achievement demonstrated both the progress made in renewable energy and the distance that the US still needs to go in order to meet its climate objectives.

For the first time ever, on March 29, wind production in the United States surpassed coal and nuclear output for a 24-hour period, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

At the same time as it demonstrated how far the United States has gone in terms of renewable energy, the landmark also demonstrated how far the nation still needs to go in order to meet climate targets.

There have been a lot of new wind turbines in the last two years. The record-breaking 14.2 GW of wind energy capacity constructed in 2020 was followed in 2021 by the 13.9 GW of wind energy capacity created. As a result, all of that storage space is now being converted to power. In the first three months of 2019, EIA data shows that seven of the top ten days for wind generation since 2018 occurred, with the other three occurring in 2021. More than 9% of the nation’s electricity is now generated by wind power, up from less than 2% in 2007.

The Great Plains states were the driving force behind the March 29 wind production spike. Renewable energy contributed for 90% of the power generated by the Southwest Power Pool, a regional grid operator for 14 states extending from Oklahoma to North Dakota, on March 29.

Bruce Rew, SPP’s Senior Vice President of Operations, said in a statement that in a decade, the area has gone from believing that 25% renewable-penetration levels were “almost unachievable” to consistently exceeding 75% without reliability problems. There are more resources available for us to draw from than smaller systems have to manage wind generation more efficiently.

There are numerous key limitations to the record wind number. Utilities use this period to do maintenance on their power plants throughout the spring and autumn months. As a consequence, coal and nuclear plant output is often lower in the spring. March, on the other hand, is known for its high levels of wind. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), wind produced less electricity in March than coal, gas, and nuclear power plants. Electricity production in the United States has been dominated by natural gas since 2016.

Because of this, the Biden administration and others who are trying to make the U.S. grid more environmentally friendly have a greater task. By the end of the decade, Vice President Biden has set a goal of 80% carbon-free electricity, which includes nuclear and hydroelectric. Last year, the United States generated 42% of its electricity via renewable and zero-carbon sources.

Ric O’Connell, who heads GridLab, a sustainable energy consulting organization, estimates that the number of wind installations in the United States would need to almost treble by the end of the decade in order for the country to achieve net-zero emissions by midcentury. The United States may or may not be able to do this.

Transmission, connectivity, and supply chain restrictions might all impede future development of US renewable power, despite the fact that the cost and logistics of operating significant quantities of renewables on the grid is no longer an issue. According to the EIA, wind installations will decline from this year’s 10.2 GW to 4.3 GW in 2023 and 5.2 GW in 2025, respectively.

O’Connell remarked, “A lot of things have to happen to keep it going.” As a result of these efforts, the federal government can only do so much in the area of permits and siting when it comes to new transmission. It’s going to be a long and difficult road.”