US electricity generation from wind turbines decreased for the first time since the mid-1990s in 2023 despite the addition of 6200MW of new capacity last year, figures from the country’s US Energy Information Agency (EIA) show.
Data from its Power Plant Operations Report found US wind generation in 2023 totalled 425,235GWh, 2.1% less than the 434,297GWh generated in 2022.
US wind capacity increased steadily over the last several years, more than tripling from 47GW in 2010 to 147.5GW at the end of 2023.
Electricity generation from the sector also grew steadily, at a similar rate to capacity, until 2023.
Last year, the average utilisation rate, or capacity factor, of the turbine fleet fell to an eight-year low of 33.5% (compared with 35.9% in 2022, the all-time high).
The 2023 decline in generation indicates the sector is maturing after decades of rapid growth, EIA said.
Slower wind speeds than normal affected wind generation in 2023, especially during the first half of the year when generation dropped by 14% compared with the same period in 2022.
Speeds increased later in 2023, and energy generation from August through December was 2.4% higher than during the same period in 2022.
Wind speeds had been stronger than normal during 2022.
The decline in wind generation in 2023 was not uniform across the US.
It decreased the most in the upper Midwest, which includes the East North Central Census Division and West North Central Census Division, according to the report.
Wind generation in the East North Central Census Division declined by 6% compared with 2022, and dropped in the West North Central Census Division by 8%.
The Mountain Census Division reported a smaller reduction of 2%. These three census divisions account for half of the installed wind capacity in the United States.
Wind generation in 2023 in other regions of the US was slightly higher than in 2022.
The West South Central Census Division had 3% more wind generation in 2023, and the Pacific Coast Census Division had 1% more.
Wind generation in Texas, which has the largest turbine fleet in the US, increased by 4.4% in 2023.
The state had an installed wind capacity of 40.7GW in 2023, accounting for 28% of the national total.