Southwest Power Pool set a new wind penetration level record of 39.1%, according to the grid operator.
The record was set 5:29 am CST Sunday, as wind output peaked at 9,000 MW and load was around 23,000 MW, according to SPP. The previous record wind-penetration level was 38.3%, set November 4.
The wind output record, set December 19, is 9,948 MW. Wind output levels Sunday were initially forecast to peak near 8,925 MW, according to SPP data.
At the time the wind penetration record was set, coal-fired plants provided about 40% of the electricity generated in SPP, compared with the 2015 average of 55%, SPP Spokesman Derek Wingfield said Wednesday.
Nuclear accounted for about 11%, compared with the 2015 average of 8%. Natural gas-fired generation produced about 8%, compared with the 2015 average of nearly 22.75%, and hydro generated more than 2%, compared with the 2015 average of 1.5%, SPP data showed.
Wind-powered generation accounted for about 13.5% of the fuel mix in 2015, Wingfield said.
Throughout January, SPP wind output averaged roughly 4,525 MW, a 1,200 MW, or 36%, jump from the same month a year ago.
Total installed and available wind capacity in the SPP footprint is 12,397 MW, Wingfield said. As of the end of 2015, SPP had 33,819 MW of wind in development, including projects under study, with executed interconnection agreements and under construction, he added.
