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Xcel's Ponnequin Wind Farm on the Colorado-Wyoming border. The wind farm helped the utiltiy produce 57% of its power from wind one night this spring - a U.S. record.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- During the early morning hours of April 15, with a steady breeze blowing down Colorado's Front Range, the state's biggest utility set a U.S. record -- nearly 57% of the electricity being generated was coming from wind power.
As dawn came and the 1.4 million customers in Xcel Energy's service district began turning on the lights, toasters and other appliances, the utility's coal and natural gas-fired power plants ramped up production and brought wind's contribution back closer to its 2012 average of 17%.
Utilities have long been wary of placing too much finicky renewable power on the grid.
"A lot of utilities don't want to contract large amounts of wind because it's volatile," said Amy Grace, a wind analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. "Anything over 25%, and utilities get nervous."
Colorado's overnight high-water mark demonstrated that utilities can indeed incorporate cleaner power sources into the mix.
It also provides hope that, under the right conditions and policies, wind will be able to provide a significantly larger share of the nation's power than its current 3% rate.
Related: IEA calls for $36 trillion more in clean energy investments
"It certainly can be replicated, as long as you have a robust, diverse grid," said Elizabeth Salerno, head of data and analysis at the American Wind Energy Association. "Other folks have some catching up to do."
One thing that helped Xcel (XEL, Fortune 500) reach such a high number was geography. Colorado is a windy state -- although it's not the windiest.
According to a wind resources map published by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas all have stronger winds.
Xcel credited its record wind rate with advances in technology.
The company recently updated its weather forecasting ability with tools that allow it to more accurately predict the strength and duration of the wind.
President Barack Obama has stopped a Chinese company from building wind turbines in the US state of Oregon, citing national security concerns, his administration said. Ralls Corp, a private Chinese firm, had acquired four wind farm projects near a US naval facility earlier this year. This is the first foreign investment to be blocked in the US for 22 years. It comes as the US lodged a trade dispute against China just weeks ahead of November's presidential election. The move forces Ralls Corp to divest its stake in the projects, which were located near restricted airspace used by the military base.
The president's order came after an investigation into the wind farms by the US Committee on Foreign Investments (CFIUS) said there was no way to mitigate the national security risks posed by the Chinese company's plans. The White House order said: "There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that Ralls Corporation... might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States." The order also targeted Sany Group, the company that makes the turbine generators. The military has said it uses the Oregon base to test unmanned drones and other equipment for electronic warfare. The aircraft fly as low as 200ft (60m) at speeds of as much as 300mph (500km/h).
Correspondents say the development could disgruntle China, whose trade advantage over the US has become a focus of Mr Obama's battle for re-election against Republican contender Mitt Romney. Mr Romney has repeatedly accused the president of being too lenient with what he has called China's unfair trade practices. Earlier this week, the Romney campaign released a video claiming that China is stealing American ideas and jobs, and accusing Mr Obama of doing little to stop it. Mr Romney has said that on his first day in office he would use an executive order to label Beijing a currency manipulator.
The Obama campaign has in turn claimed that Mr Romney outsourced jobs to China during his time as a private equity chief. Meanwhile, on the campaign trail, Mr Obama has highlighted his record with China, reminding voters that he filed more trade cases against Beijing in one administration than his predecessor, George W Bush, did in two terms. This month, the Obama administration filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against Chinese subsidies for its car industry. The Obama campaign has also criticised Mr Romney for investing in Chinese firms.
BBC News - US blocks Chinese firm's investment in wind farms
Wait until no one wants to build Nat Gas or Coal plants anymore.. Not if they have to be idled every time the wind blows for more than 20 minutes.. The cheering will die WAY down when folks start dying and losing their jobs..
Kennedy opposed the proposed Cape Wind project, which would be the country's first off-shore wind farm. Kennedy owns a home 4.7 miles from the proposed wind farm, and referred to the project's builder as a "special interest developer."
What would happen if 50% of all of our energy came from solar, wind, wave or hydro?
What would happen if 50% of all of our energy came from solar, wind, wave or hydro?
What would happen if 50% of all of our energy came from solar, wind, wave or hydro?
But once you install it, it's FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
