In 2023, the landscape of wind power in the United States experienced a notable shift. For the first time since the 1990s, the production of electricity from wind experienced a decline. This occurred despite the country expanding its wind energy capacity by 6.2 gigawatts during the previous year.
The total energy production from wind stood at 425,235 gigawatthours, a slight decrease from 434,297 GWh in 2022, which marked a reduction of 2.1%.
Capacity and Utilization
Over the past years, the U.S. consistently increased its wind power capabilities, with a growth from 47.0 GW in 2010 to a significant 147.5 GW by the end of 2023. However, unlike the capacity, the quantity of electricity generated from wind did not follow the same upward trajectory in 2023.
Statistics from the past year show a drop in average utilization to 33.5%, marking an eight-year low and a decrease from the previous peak utilization of 35.9%.
Geographical Variations
The reduction wasn’t uniform across the country:
- Upper Midwest: Saw the most significant decreases with the East North Central and West North Central Census Divisions witnessing a 6% and 8% fall, respectively.
- Mountain Division: Observed a marginal reduction of 2%.
- Texas: Demonstrated a contrasting trend, where the country’s largest wind generation fleet is located, with an increase of 4.4%. Texas alone constituted 28% of the national capacity with 40.7 GW.
In comparison, some areas actually recorded a rise in wind generation:
- West South Central: Increased by 3%
- Pacific Coast: Slightly higher by 1%
Factors Influencing the Decline
The 2023 downturn was primarily attributed to weaker-than-normal wind speeds. These were particularly noticeable in the first half of the year, where there was a 14% decrease from the same period in the previous year.
Wind conditions improved in the latter half, with generation from August to December being 2.4% higher compared to those months in 2022. It’s important to note that the year 2022 had unusually high wind speeds.
This situation provides an insight into the maturing wind energy market in the U.S. It reflects how natural variability can impact renewable energy sources.
Contributions made by Mark Morey and Scott Jell have provided a clearer understanding of these dynamics within the wind generation sector.
