Lower wind speeds in 2023 dealt a blow to renewable power output after state and federal governments spent billions proliferating turbine farms.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) last month, turbine generation declined for the first time in roughly 30 years despite increased capacity to harness the wind. The Energy Department says last year’s utilization rate dropped to an eight-year low following a record year in 2022.
“Wind energy proponents say breezes have increased in 2024, but critics warn the 2023 dip demonstrates the risks to the stability of the energy grid when it is even partially reliant on renewable sources tied to the weather,” reported The Washington Times.
According to the EIA, slower wind speeds in the first half of 2023 led to a 14 percent drop in wind generation compared to 2022.
Larry Behrens, the spokesman for the energy nonprofit Power the Future, told The Federalist the decline in wind power production “is just more proof” that “one of the biggest lies of wind energy is that it can replace fossil fuels.”
Wind is responsible for roughly half of the nation’s renewable power output and made up more than 10 percent of the total U.S. electricity mix in 2023, representing an increase from less than 1 percent in 1990. Sixty percent of the nation’s energy needs remain met by fossil fuels, and nearly 19 percent are met by nuclear.
The abrupt decline in wind production illustrates a vulnerability in weather-dependent power sources embraced by
