Low wind could hamper wind turbine production in Texas
FORT WORTH (CBSNewsTexas.com) — Some of the hottest days of the year in North Texas are on their way and energy experts say the state's wind turbines may not produce as much power because of low wind forecasts.
Texas leads the nation and even most of the world with wind energy production with 15,000 plus turbines throughout the state.
Dr. Todd Griffith, of UT Dallas' Wind Energy Center says the turbines account for the production of about 24% of the state's energy grid according to recent data.
He says when wind production is low in Texas, ERCOT, the states electric grid operator needs to find other ways to make up for power generation.
He said, "On days when the wind is a bit lower we need to compensate for that with these other sources…namely, natural gas and coal sources and nuclear."
Experts say wind naturally picks up at night time, which means the turbine blades may not be spinning as much during the daytime scorching heat.
Dr. Griffith says conservation of power is important whenever there are concerns of maxing out the power supply of the grid, it's something ERCOT is already urging customers to do.
So, while wind energy may be down in the next few days, Dr. Griffith says some practical adjustments on behalf of ERCOT and the customers at home should help keep us powered up and in turn cool enough to get through this upcoming stretch of triple digit heat.