America’s Wind Power Production Drops for the First Time in 25 Years
- Weaker-than-normal Midwest breezes drove the decline
- Data highlights challenges of adding renewable energy to grid
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US wind power slipped last year for the first time in a quarter-century due to weaker-than-normal Midwest breezes, underscoring the challenge of integrating volatile renewable energy sources into the grid.
Power produced by turbines slipped 2% in 2023, even after developers added 6.2 gigawatts of new capacity, according to a government report Tuesday. The capacity factor for the country’s wind fleet — how much energy it’s actually generating versus its maximum possible output — declined to an eight-year low of 33.5%. Most of that decline was driven by the central US, a region densely dotted with turbines.