A 1.8 Megawatt Wind Turbine does not generate 1.8 MW 24-hours a day, 365 days a year! If it did, it would generate 15,768 Megawatt-Hours per year. On average in the U.S., wind turbines generate only 28.8% ( the capacity factor) of that amount, or 4541 MWh ( 4,541,000 KWh ) per year. There are wind-speed and direction variations and down-times for maintenance or excessive wind speed all of which combine to prevent the turbine from reaching even near full capacity. With the average home consuming 11,040 Kilowatt-hours per year (2008) assuming a 28.8% capacity factor, ...
...a 1.8 MW turbine will fully power 411 homes even with the down-time and wind variations. On average.
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