Wind Power Surpasses Hydro Power

An article in UtilityDive led me to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing that in 2016, the installed capacity of wind energy surpassed the installed capacity of hydroelectric energy for the first time. That milestone resonates with me as someone who has followed the growth of renewable energy for decades and was always depressed, early on, at how much of our renewable capacity was from hydroelectricity rather than solar or wind. But those days are now officially over.

Interestingly, for 2017, hydroelectric sources will still produce more actual electricity than wind generation.

Given the hydro fleet's historically higher capacity factors compared with wind and the expected strong hydrological conditions on the West Coast this year, such as the recent heavy rainfall in California and the Pacific Northwest, hydro generation in 2017 will likely still be higher than wind generation even with anticipated continuing additions of new wind capacity throughout the year.

Link:  U.S. wind generating capacity surpasses hydro capacity at the end of 2016