ERCOT established a record for all grid operators last week when it registered a new peak for wind generation with 14,122 MW.

Thursday’s mark broke its previous high of 14,023 MW, set in February, and gave ERCOT another mark in its good-natured battle with SPP to see which grid operator produces the most wind generation.

For the time being, SPP still holds the wind-penetration mark of 49.17%, but ERCOT in October surpassed 17,000 MW of installed wind-generation capacity. Texas has another 11,273 MW of wind energy in its interconnection queue.

“Texas has done an incredible job integrating renewables,” native Texan and NYISO CEO Brad Jones said during the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Alliance’s recent GridNEXT conference. “No matter SPP’s brag, Texas still owns the record for the most renewables in the country.”

ERCOT also set a new peak load record for October when total demand hit 59,848 MW on October 5. Wind accounted for 17% of the ISO’s energy needs in October.

Natural gas accounted for 36.7% of ERCOT’s energy production during the month, coal 35.7% and nuclear 10.3%, according to the ISO’s latest demand and energy report.

The Texas grid operator’s Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy for October and November had projected a peak demand of 54,400 MW this fall.

SPP Surpasses 11,000 MW of Wind Generation

For its part, SPP exceeded 11,000 MW of wind generation for the first time Thursday, setting a new record of 11,305 MW and tying its wind-penetration mark of 49.17%. The new record came at 6:13 p.m.

The mark broke the previous wind peak of 10,989 MW, set in April, and was the fifth such record set in 2016.

The RTO’s generation interconnection queue includes about 22,000 MW of additional wind.

– Tom Kleckner