Alberta’s ‘world famous’ wind farms generated negligible power last Monday, despite costing billions of dollars collectively.
According to Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) data, the province’s hundreds of turbines across 45 wind farms produced less power than a single diesel generator produces.
As reported by The Epoch Times, Alberta’s wind farms, with the capacity to generate 4,481 megawatts (MW) of energy, failed to produce more than eight megawatts at any time for at least half an hour after the sun had set.
The ReliableAB X account uncovered wind power production hit rock bottom at 10:10 p.m. and remained under 100 MW well into the following afternoon. Wind speeds never exceeded more than two knots.
Despite facing incredible pushback from ‘green energy’ advocates, the Alberta government says pausing new permits for renewable energy projects came at the discretion of Alberta regulators.
FULL STORY: https://t.co/QhRYt3lh3P pic.twitter.com/Ah8ff49FCm
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) August 29, 2023
At 3:38 a.m. on February 6, wind power fell to two megawatts (0.04%) of Alberta’s total wind capacity.
The AESO did not issue a “grid alert” as temperatures never fell below -10°C across much of the province. At that time, Alberta exported 48 MW of power to British Columbia.
During a four-day polar vortex in mid-January, Alberta imported approximately 500 MW of power from Saskatchewan, Montana, and British Columbia. According to SaskPower, they imported 153 MW of coal-fired power to Alberta.
“Yesterday [Feb. 5] we had less than 10 megawatts from 1:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., from 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then from 9:45 to midnight. We were at zero for much of the afternoon and then from 10:45 to midnight. We did have wind production in the 100–150-megawatt range throughout much of the morning up to 10 a.m. before winds died off for the day,” a SaskPower spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
According to Alberta’s energy grid data, wind and solar power production fell sharply Monday to 29 megawatts (MW) — less than 1% of the province’s total energy capacity.
MORE: https://t.co/nk2MA0DBmn pic.twitter.com/1Dcf6AWjd3
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) April 6, 2023
Pipeline Online reported Alberta’s energy output from wind plummeted to 0.8% capacity, with 29 MW generated just after midnight last April 4. Alberta wind farms produced 3,618 MW at total capacity then but dwindled during the frigid cold winter months.
On the evening of February 23, the extreme cold nearly slowed wind farms across the province, tanking to between 11 and 20 megawatts (0.3%) with 31 turbines not operational.
Below -30°C temperatures, wind turbines hibernate and are susceptible to breaking, forcing the province to rely on fossil fuels to sustain its grid — constituting 91.3% of all power generation.
“Wind is at 0.4% of capacity and produces 0.1% of total generation, while solar is at 33.2% of capacity and 3.61% of total generation. At the same time, we are importing 811 MW or 7%,” tweeted Reliable AB Energy, which tracks Alberta’s energy grid.
This is a developing story.
