Texas wind power surge means negative prices
Houston, 20 April (Argus) — Increasing wind power penetration in Texas brought the return of negative real-time power prices during low-load hours in March as the state extends its lead in wind generation.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said wind output on the evening of 19 February hit a record 11,154MW, or 83pc of the more than 13,000MW of installed wind capacity.
ERCOT set a wind penetration record of nearly 41pc when wind output was 10,308MW while total load was just 25,400MW in the early morning hours of 29 March.
Such high wind penetrations have pressed real-time power prices down to zero or slightly negative on several occasions, ERCOT president Trip Doggett told board members recently. Negative prices were seen on at least three nights during the last week of March.
