Colorado Wind-Powered Electric Energy 2018

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  • Wind turbines generated 17.53% of Colorado’s electric energy supply in 2018.

  • Electric utilities delivered 9,813 gigaWatthours of wind energy to consumers.

  • 3,706 megaWatts of wind-turbine electric generating capacity is installed on the plains of eastern Colorado.

Colorado 2018 Electric Energy Sources:
Utility-Scale

Wind-turbine generators supplied more than 1/6th of Colorado consumers’ electric power in 2018. Coal-fired electric energy declined from 54.31% in 2017 to 47.10% of total Colorado electric power supply in 2018.


Reproduced from U.S. Department of Energy - WINDExchange, with Linecurrents edits. (Tap/click to enlarge).

Colorado Electric Wind-Energy Growth 2001-2018:
Utility-Scale

Colorado’s wind-powered electric energy supply grew from near-0% of total electric energy supply to more than 17% in 17 years.

Linecurrents chart, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. (Tap/click to enlarge).

Rush Creek Wind became Colorado’s largest windpower project in September 2018. Rush Creek consists of 300 wind-turbine generators totaling 600 megaWatts (MW) capacity in Cheyenne, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties.

Rush Creek Wind is the only in-service windpower project owned and operated by Xcel Energy in Colorado. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) own and operate most Colorado windpower projects, and sell generated electric energy to utilities via long-term contracts. The chart showing a 2018 “Electric Utilities” (dark blue) wind gigaWatthours increase is due to Rush Creek Wind.

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Notes

1 gigaWatthour =
1,000 megaWatthours =
1,000,000 kiloWatthours

Colorado Monthly Electric Wind Energy 2018:
Utility-Scale

March, April, January, June and December were the most productive months for wind-powered electric energy in 2018.

Linecurrents chart, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. (Tap/click to enlarge).

Colorado Windpark Sites:
Utility-Scale

Colorado’s utility scale windparks sites are on the eastern plains, where the wind “resource” is best. EIA map shows Colorado wind energy generating sites.

Colorado utility-scale windpower sites (windparks). EIA State Profile Overview: Colorado. (Tap/click to enlarge).

Colorado Average Windspeed at 80 Meters Above Terrain

Colorado’s highest annual average windspeeds occur on the eastern plains (purples, red & orange). Map windpeeds shown are average, not constant. Windspeeds are often below wind-turbine generator’s (WTG’s) minimum start-up speed ratings.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Colorado map: average windspeed at 80 meters above terrain.

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- Notes to above section & NREL map -

NREL map windspeeds are meters per second (m/s). Convert to miles per hour (mph) . . multiply m/s by 2.237.

EXAMPLE
10 m/s = 22.37 mph

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Power of wind is proportional to wind-velocity-cubed. Windspeed reduction of half reduces power in the wind and WTG electric power by 1/8th.

EXAMPLE

  • at 10 m/s windspeed . . 1,000 kiloWatts-rated (1 megaWatt) utility-scale WTG achieves maximum electric generating output.

  • at 5 m/s windspeed . . same WTG output is 125 kiloWatts.

More Colorado wind energy info:

Colorado, trends, windpowerAllyn SvobodaColorado renewable energy, wind energy, windpower