![Brian Zinchuk](https://pipeline-online-v1688357189.websitepro-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Brian-Zinchuk-Panther-Rig-4-1000px-square-74x74.jpg)
Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
![](https://pipeline-online-v1688357189.websitepro-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Alberta-wind-turbines-3000-_DSC7332-scaled.jpg)
Wind turbines in southern Alberta. Photo by Clive Schaupmeyer
The afternoon of June 12 saw wind power production drop to less than one per cent of its rated nameplate capacity. Windspeeds in southern Alberta, where the wind generation facilities reside, were faced with low single-digit windspeeds.
Twitter bot account @ReliableAB posts hourly updates on power generation in Alberta from the Alberta Electric System Operator. At 3:25 p.m., wind power production fell to 30 megawatts, or 0.8 per cent of the 3,618 megawatts of installed wind power nameplate capacity.
At this moment 83.9% of Alberta's electricity is being produced by fossil fuels. Wind is at 0.8% of capacity and producing 0.3% of total generation, while solar is at 81.7% of capacity and producing 9.32% of total generation. At the same time we are importing 187 MW or 2% pic.twitter.com/j3fRhv9gkk
— Reliable AB Energy (@ReliableAB) June 12, 2023
This occurred during a warm but smoky day in Alberta. In Calgary it was 25 C at the time, with winds of 5 kilometres per hour. Lethbridge was 26 with a wind of 2 kilometres per hour. Medicine Hat was 29 with winds of 4 kilometres per hour.
This came less than a week after the Alberta Electric System Operator issued a “grid alert” at 3:49 p.m. on June 7 “due to hot temperatures and low wind, combined with an unplanned generator outage.” Coincidentally, the low wind conditions on June 12 coincided almost to the minute to the low wind conditions that triggered the grid alert five days before.
- 0080 Turnbull Clarence 25 years0080 Turnbull Clarence 25 years
- 0078 LHOS 20240078 LHOS 2024
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001