In January, production from Texas wind farms declined by 22% compared to the same month last year, as per data recently released by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state's grid. This decrease continues a year-long slump for wind energy.
Last year, wind generation mildly slumped by about 1% compared to 2022, even though overall generation had increased by almost 4%. To compensate for this shortfall, natural gas generation rose by 9% in 2023, according to ERCOT's data.
As stated on its website, ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers -- accounting for approximately 90 percent of the state’s electric load.
Similarly, the significant decline in wind power in January necessitated other resources to fill in the gap. Coal usage increased by 56% over last January, while natural gas usage rose by 47%. Although solar power also saw an increase, most of the shortage caused by the drop in wind was compensated for by dispatchable sources powered by fossil fuels, as per ERCOT's data.
According to Gavin Maguire, Reuters' Global Energy Transition columnist, even if wind generation increases, it may not be reliable enough for the ERCOT system to depend on it for supplying power to Texas. The drop in wind output this year follows a "disappointing" total wind generation for 2023.
The growth of wind and solar generation in both Texas and across the U.S. has been driven largely by substantial subsidies over most of the past two decades. The Energy Alliance found that since 2006, federal subsidies for renewables across the U.S. have totaled $127 billion. In Texas alone, federal, state and local subsidies have amounted to $31 billion during this same period. Bill Peacock, policy director for the Energy Alliance, concurs that the Texas grid is encountering issues due to the growth of wind power. He said, "As subsidies have led to an increase of wind and solar generation in Texas, the reliability of the Texas grid has faltered. These intermittent sources simply cannot be relied upon to maintain reliability 24/7."
