Isn wind energy unpredictable?
This is the greatest hurdle currently facing wind energy producers. CanWEA says that on an annual basis, wind power is more reliable than water power, which is affected by dry years. But Energy Probe, an independent think tank on energy in Ontario, says it’s worried that wind power — “a clean and promising generating technology” — is “burdened with unrealistic forecasts of reliable production at times of high electricity demand.” It conducted an analysis of hour-to-hour capacity factors at Ontario wind farms in the summer of 2006 and found output declined in the morning, and on a month-to-month basis, wind output remained flattest during the hottest periods. It also found that Ontario’s wind farms often underperformed, creating only a fraction of their potential capacity for electricity generation. A study by the Alberta Electric System Operator also found that wind farms were able to generate lots of energy during warm periods but during cold snaps, when demand for energy is high, t
