Yesterday, we reported that 82% of all new electrical capacity in the US came from renewable energy in first quarter.
In the US, that’s electrical capacity, not necessarily the energy consumed.
In Portugal, 70% of all energy consumed during the first quarter was renewable.
Hydro supplied 37% and wind supplied 27% of that energy.
Output from coal dropped 29% and natural gas declined 44% compared with the first quarter of 2012.
Portugal was even able to export electricity – the equivalent of 6% of national consumption. Energy demand is down in Portugal because of the recession and favorable weather conditions.
Wind Sets Record in California
In Southern California, wind energy hit a record high last week in electric power produced, thanks to a severe storm that produced gusts of more than 70 miles per hour.
Trees and power lines came down, but the turbines kept turning in the desert.
Wind turbines produced 4196 megawatts of power, says the California Independent System Operator (ISO), enough to supply more than 3.1 million homes at 6:44 PM on Sunday.
On Friday, April 5, wind turbines produced 4,095 MW, beating the previous record in California of 3,944 MW, set on March 3.
"With these impressive wind production levels, California is well positioned to meet the 33% by 2020 green power goal," Steve Berberich, CEO of ISO told NBC News.
California wind plants have a capacity of 5,899 MW on the Californai ISO grid, but because power lines were down, not all of it could be delivered.
Texas has achieved peak wind production more than twice that of California’s record.
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