The WindAction Group (www.windAction.org)
Facts, analysis, exposure to industrial wind energy's real impacts
Last April, Reuters and others reported poor winds in some western states during the first quarter of 2015.
We checked the preliminary production data released by the Energy Information Administration for that period and, sure enough, the production numbers were way down. The attached spreadsheet compares Q1'15 performance against the same period in 2014. A summary of the capacity factors for the states reporting wind project information is provided below. The full data can be accessed by downloading the attachment on this page.
Texas, California, Iowa, Oklahoma and Illinois, which account for 50% of total installed wind in the US, each experienced significant reductions in output for the first quarter. NextEra Energy confirmed the reduction in Texas performance during its first quarter earnings conference call.
| SPREADSHEET PREPARED BY WINDACTION.ORG | |||
| Based on U.S. EIA-923 Monthly Time Series File | |||
| 2014 and 2015 Q1 | |||
| State | MW | Q1'2015 CF | Q1'2014 CF |
| Arizona | 227 | 15.8% | 21.0% |
| California | 5,182 | 13.2% | 19.8% |
| Colorado | 2,299 | 36.4% | 40.9% |
| Hawaii | 171 | 21.0% | 18.3% |
| Iowa | 4,977 | 40.8% | 44.4% |
| Idaho | 532 | 28.3% | 42.0% |
| Illinois | 3,524 | 38.0% | 42.3% |
| Indiana | 1,537 | 32.6% | 29.8% |
| Kansas | 2,898 | 41.0% | 46.5% |
| Massachusetts | 29 | 41.7% | 52.4% |
| Maryland | 120 | 38.6% | 37.6% |
| Maine | 401 | 40.1% | 36.3% |
| Michigan | 1,374 | 37.9% | 36.7% |
| Minnesota | 2,440 | 42.4% | 45.5% |
| Missouri | 454 | 29.3% | 35.5% |
| Montana | 605 | 46.4% | 43.5% |
| North Dakota | 1,767 | 42.8% | 49.8% |
| Nebraska | 518 | 49.4% | 53.2% |
| New Hampshire | 147 | 36.7% | 34.6% |
| New Mexico | 773 | 23.1% | 40.8% |
| Nevada | 152 | 22.1% | 22.0% |
| New York | 1,712 | 33.5% | 32.8% |
| Ohio | 403 | 37.6% | 41.7% |
| Oklahoma | 3,158 | 36.2% | 45.1% |
| Oregon | 3,044 | 15.3% | 23.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,278 | 39.2% | 40.0% |
| South Dakota | 779 | 47.4% | 50.4% |
| Tennessee | 29 | 22.2% | 26.4% |
| Texas | 12,308 | 27.5% | 37.7% |
| Utah | 306 | 16.5% | 24.2% |
| Vermont | 109 | 39.1% | 33.1% |
| Washington | 2,724 | 20.6% | 29.5% |
| Wisconsin | 608 | 33.4% | 38.7% |
| West Virginia | 583 | 37.8% | 38.0% |
| Wyoming | 1,340 | 39.3% | 52.2% |
| Total | 58,507 | 31.6% | 37.7% |
Download file (224 KB) pdf