Climate Changed
Searing Heat Is Hurting Texas Wind Power
- Temperatures in triple digits increase demand for electricity
- Without wind, more costly gas and coal plants may fill void
How Rising Temperatures Can Fry the Economy
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Temperatures are soaring across Texas, and that’s bad news for the state’s wind power generators.
Wind farms -- which now account for about a fifth of the state’s power mix -- are forecast to generate significantly less electricity this week as the heat builds and keeps turbines from spinning. Wind generation may peak at about 5,900 megawatts on Thursday and 6,900 megawatts Friday, less than two-thirds of what they totaled a week earlier, according to grid manager Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot.