On Thursday evening, more electricity was being produced in New England by wind farms than by all the gas-fired plants and hydropower plants in New Hampshire, combined.
Around 8:30 p.m., according to ISO-New England, slightly more than 2,000 megawatts of electricity was coming from wind, the first time the six-state region has topped that symbolic point. That record is about 30% higher than records set in October of last year, a sign of Revolution Wind off Rhode Island coming online in the spring following last year’s much-delayed start of Vineyard Wind.
2,000 megawatts (2 gigawatts, if you prefer) is between one-seventh and one-tenth of the region’s total electricity demand at different times of the year. So it’s pretty significant, even if it pales next to northern Europe’s wind production.
I don’t expect too much improvement in coming years because of a lack of new projects, due largely to Trump’s attacks on this home-grown energy source. The best bet might be in Maine, which is pushing to put big on-shore farms in its northern quadrant. No wind farms are in the works for New Hampshire.
