Dive Brief:

Wind generation in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas system set a new record last week, exceeding 12,000 MW around 1 a.m. on Oct. 22.

The new record bests the previous wind peak of 11,467 MW, set last month.

Dive Insight:

Texas' largest grid operator continues to break records this year. For the second time in about a month, ERCOT has logged a new wind generation peak — this time reaching 12,238 MW, making up more than a third of the grid operator's load. All total, wind generation at the peak met 36.83% of ERCOT's demand.

It is at least the third wind peak recorded this year. In February the grid set a record of 11,154. which was bested last month. The state has the largest amount of installed wind capacity, around 15,500 MW. September's peak hit markets hard, with real-time prices falling briefly below $0/MWh.

The state's penchant for breaking records this year has not been limited to generation. In August, ERCOT posted three new demand records across two consecutive days, as the state saw temperatures spike during a lengthy heat wave. In the late afternoon of Aug. 6, ERCOT set an all-time record for hourly demand of 68,912 MW.