The silence of the wind turbines

As the nation is gripped in a national hot spell, it is worthwhile to re-learn some weather lore that was obvious to our ancestors who lived and worked outdoors. Summer hot spells are a result of high pressure systems. High pressure systems tend to be windless. Here is an image from WeatherUndergound of the national wind forecast for Friday July 19, 2019. Note that much of the nation is in the blue to yellow range under 12 miles per hour. https://maps.wunderground.com/data/ndfdimages/WindSpd201907191500_us.png Here is a graph showing the output power of wind turbines versus wind speed. You will note that the output is zero below 3.5 meters per second (12 miles per hour).

The conclusion is obvious, just as electric demand for air conditioning is peaking, the wind turbines stop spinning. If you want air conditioning, you will need to get it elsewhere. Some will note that the clear, summer air will allow solar plants to reach a relatively high output, which is true until the sun sets. Now is when fossil fuel and nuclear power plants will provide the electric power American needs.