March 29 marks an important date in US energy history. On that day, for the first time, wind power became the second largest source of energy in the country. It produced 2,017 gigawatt hours, or 19% of the United States’ energy. This is better than nuclear power, which is 19%, but 1989 gigawatt hours and coal, only 17%. Only natural gas performed better, 31%.
This is an exceptional event that only happened for one day, and the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) did not expect this to happen for a whole month in 2022 or even 2023. Huffpost. This March 29 event can be explained by a number of factors: the wind speed is often high during this period, with many records being broken that day. In addition, in the spring, demand for electricity decreases, which means less nuclear and coal production.
However, wind power continues to grow in the United States, and its production has been higher than nuclear power since 2019, but only runs intermittently (35% of the time in 2021 against 93% of nuclear power). However, this highlights the US efforts in support of renewable energy. Today EIA estimates that sunlight and wind generate 44% of electricity in the United States at 21%.
“Avid gamer. Social media geek. Proud troublemaker. Thinker. Travel fan. Problem solver.”