ERCOT harnessing every MW of wind The winter winds are blowing,
especially in Texas where El Paso is predicted to get five
inches of snow. No one is more thankful for the power of these
winds than ERCOT, which set a new wind power generation record
at the end of December. On December 25, 2013, wind generation
provided 8,638 MW of power, representing nearly 26 percent of
system load. This tops the last record, set on November 10, by
117 MW. Wind farms in West Texas contributed more than 6,600 MW
with more than 1,600 MW coming from wind farms along the Texas
Coast. "Unlike traditional power plants, wind power output can
vary dramatically over the course of a single day, and even more
so over time," said Kent Saathoff, ERCOT's vice president of
grid operations and system planning. "With new tools and
experience, our operators have learned how to harness every
megawatt of power they can when the wind is blowing at high
levels like this." Harnessing this power is increasingly
important as ERCOT begins to move wind