According to Bloomberg BNA (subscription required), last week, for the first time ever, more than 50% of the load in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas service area was supplied by wind power. This is the state that consumes more coal than any other. Installed wind capacity is now more than 18,000 megawatts and is projected to be as high as 28,000 MW by 2020.
In an important note for regions such as New England, Bloomberg points out that, in order to support wind generation growth, Texas
"Went as far as building out an entire network of transmission lines to reach supplies in wind-rich areas."
Let me know when the coal renaissance arrives.
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