Wind and Heat Pumps: A Winning Combination

Last month, I posted some nice maps showing when and where good wind resources are found in the US. Now I’ve found something better: a visual comparison of electrical load with wind farm production[pdf file], published by the Western Area Power Administration in 2006. The study compared electricity production from five wind farms in Northern Colorado, Southwestern Nebraska, and Central Wyoming in 2004, 2005, and the start of 2006, compared with electricity consumption in the same area over the same time period. Let’s go further…


…For wind advocates, these are probably rather scary graphs. The first thing you probably noticed was the big blue patches of wind production during summer peak demand, roughly 10am to 10pm in June, July, and August. This is why wind is referred to as an “energy resource” not a “capacity resource.” Right when demand is often highest, the wind is least likely to be blowing, namely hot summer afternoons.

The Oil Drum