Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Wind Turbine Capacity

    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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