Wind energy is a more reliable source of grid electricity than conventional power plants, according to an analysis released last week by the American Wind Energy Association.
“Overwrought concerns about wind’s reliability often centre on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the grid works,” Midwest Energy News reports. “Since its inception more than a century ago, the grid has inherently handled a constant flux of supply and demand. All power sources involve some level of variability, and demand can vary greatly minute by minute.”
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According to AWEA Research Director and report author Michael Goggin, total supply and demand at any moment is more important than fluctuations in supply from any given source. “Grid operators only care about total variability on the power system,” Goggin said. “They don’t care what any one wind plant is doing or even what all wind plants are doing.”
Since wind’s variability is more predictable than a conventional power plant, and each unit accounts for a smaller amount of generation, “less reserve electricity is needed on hand to guard against wind variability,” Lydersen writes. “The AWEA report cites data from Texas’ grid operator ERCOT showing that the need for wind reserves adds an extra four cents to utility bills, compared to 76 cents as a hedge against power plant outages.”
