This occurred even though the total “capacity” of wind generation, due to more wind driven generators, went up. But power generation went down. Why? Because there was less wind. Total generation was 33.5% of installed capacity.
U.S. wind capacity increased steadily over the last several years, more than tripling from 47.0 GW in 2010 to 147.5 GW at the end of 2023. Electricity generation from wind turbines also grew steadily, at a similar rate to capacity, until 2023. Last year, the average utilization rate, or capacity factor, of the wind turbine fleet fell to an eight-year low of 33.5% (compared with 35.9% in 2022, the all-time high).
The 2023 decline in wind generation indicates that wind as a generation source is maturing after decades of rapid growth. Slower wind speeds than normal affected wind generation in 2023, especially during the first half of the year when wind generation dropped by 14% compared with the same period in 2022. Wind speeds increased later in 2023, and wind generation from August through December was 2.4% higher than during the same period in 2022. Wind speeds had been stronger than normal during 2022.
As we shut down coal, gas and oil-fired power plants and replace with solar and wind – while simultaneously increasing electricity demand via EVs and electric water heaters and stoves replacing gas units – we seem to be setting ourselves up for brown outs and black outs in the near future.
