Biden and Newsom are dumb. They are scientific illiterates—and because of that, could kill our economy. They are forcing us to us solar and wind turbines. But what if there is not enough sun? And at night? What if there is not enough wind?
“According to the government-run U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity generation from wind turbines fell for the first time since the 1990s, dropping despite the addition of 6.2 gigawatts of new wind capacity added by new wind turbines.
Wind generation plunged 14% during the first half of 2023 from a year earlier, reducing the amount of energy generated by the nation’s growing fleet of turbines.
NextEra Energy Resources, one of the nation’s top energy providers and the world’s largest producer of wind and solar, recently told investors that 2023 “was the lowest wind resource on record over the past 30 years.” The decline drove down share prices of the company’s renewable and storage portfolio.”
Our economy, the Democrats, will be based on the wind and the sun. You want to take that chance?
Gone with the wind: Energy output dented by wind drought
By Susan Ferrechio – The Washington Times, 5/24/24 https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/may/24/gone-with-wind-energy-output-dented-by-wind-drough/?utm_source=Boomtrain&utm_medium=manual&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_content=newsalert&utm_term=newsalert&bt_ee=Eo1blBuTe8e2unHSC%2Bk73a%2BiEefIc7%2BnuP9mfSrh%2FIH%2BxvLpQ1jJRmJoWVawANTh&bt_ts=1716565963787
Wind speeds fell dramatically in 2023, slowing turbines and decreasing renewable energy production across the United States even as billions of dollars were invested in building new wind power plants.
Wind energy proponents say breezes have increased in 2024, but critics warn the 2023 dip demonstrates the risks to the stability of the energy grid when it is even partially reliant on renewable sources tied to the weather.
“The intermittent, weather-dependent nature of wind turbines make them such a bad fit with the grid,” said Ken Davis, a corporate executive with more than 40 years experience in the electric and gas industry.
According to the government-run U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity generation from wind turbines fell for the first time since the 1990s, dropping despite the addition of 6.2 gigawatts of new wind capacity added by new wind turbines.
Wind generation plunged 14% during the first half of 2023 from a year earlier, reducing the amount of energy generated by the nation’s growing fleet of turbines.
NextEra Energy Resources, one of the nation’s top energy providers and the world’s largest producer of wind and solar, recently told investors that 2023 “was the lowest wind resource on record over the past 30 years.” The decline drove down share prices of the company’s renewable and storage portfolio.
Mark Morey and Scott Jell, analysts for the EIA, said the 2023 decrease indicates that wind as a source of power in the nation’s energy grid “is maturing after decades of rapid growth.”
Wind capacity had been increasing steadily, more than tripling from 2010 to 2023 as new wind farms were built and added to the electrical grid, according to the EIA. But slower wind speeds in 2023 dropped the wind turbine reliability rate — the percentage of time turbines produce maximum power — to an eight-year low of 33.5%, down from 35.9% in 2022.
Wind turbines provided 10.2% of all U.S. electricity generation in 2023. Solar panels made up 3.9% and hydropower provided 5.7%.
Most of the nation’s energy grid was powered by fossil fuels (60%) and nuclear power (18.6%), according to the EIA.
Wind and solar are rated as the least-reliable energy sources according to the Department of Energy, while nuclear, geothermal and natural gas are rated as the most reliable.
The increase of weather-dependent renewables in the nation’s energy mix has prompted repeated warnings from the U.S. regulator in charge of grid reliability.
In its summer reliability assessment issued on May 15, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned of energy supply problems in extreme weather, when demand soars and wind peters out.
While normal peak loads can be met this summer thanks to the addition of 25 GW of solar energy, NERC said, “energy risks are growing in several areas when solar, wind and hydro output are low.”
Texas-based ERCOT, which uses more wind generation in its power mix than anywhere else in the country, is at “elevated risk” of energy emergencies during extreme conditions this summer, partly due to wind generator performance, NERC officials said.
Despite lower reliability rates, the U.S. has invested heavily in wind turbines and solar panels.
Robert Bryce, who has authored six books on energy, calculated that the federal government spent more than $30 billion on tax credits for wind production between 2004 and 2022.
During the same period, private companies invested $278 billion, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
“Thus, over the last two decades, the U.S. has spent more than $300 billion building 150 GW of wind capacity that has gobbled up massive amounts of land, garnered enormous (and bitter) opposition from rural Americans, and hasn’t gotten more efficient over time,” Mr. Bryce wrote on Substack.
Officials at EIA told The Washington Times the outlook for wind generation is positive and turbines will continue to grow as a source of cheaper electricity in the U.S. grid.
The EIA predicts wind turbines will pump 0.446 billion kilowatt-hours into the grid in 2024, up from 0.425 billion kilowatt-hours in 2023. The number is predicted to grow to 0.461 billion kilowatt hours in 2025.
Wind turbines are expected to provide 11% of the U.S. energy mix in 2025, up from the 10.6% output predicted for 2024.
Solar is also on the rise. Solar generated 5.5% of U.S. electricity in 2023, a 17.5% increase from 2022.
Mr. Morey, who is EIA’s senior electricity analyst, said the drop in wind output in 2023 followed a record-high output for U.S. wind turbines in 2022.
“2022 was a gangbusters year for wind speeds and generation,” Mr. Morey said. “So one problem was that 2023 was being compared to an all-time record year.”
Mr. Morey said no matter how many turbines and solar panels are added to the mix, wind and solar require backup sources, typically nuclear and fossil fuels.
“This is very low cost power. So when you integrate it into the rest of the system, it can substantially keep power costs under control,” Mr. Morey said. “But yes, there are steps that have to be taken by suppliers to make sure that they have sufficient backup power. So If wind or solar drops off suddenly, they have resources available to them.”
In theory this is a great idea. In reality, it sucks!