More wind turbines, but the smallest production gain in last 8 years

Fuel Fix:

Last year might have been a banner year for wind turbine construction, but not for the wind itself.

According to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the amount of electricity generated from wind turbines grew by less than 10 million megawatt hours last year, the smallest increase since 2007.

In a report Thursday government analysts attributed the slow down to decreased wind speeds across the western half of the United States during the first six months of 2015.
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The fall off came even as wind energy capacity grew by its highest level in three years, as more than 8,000 megawatts worth of new turbines were installed on the grid, according to EIA.
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One of the problems with alternative energy at this stage of development is that it is hard to modulate output the way you can with gas or coal.  This leads to the need for additional fossil fuel capacity to make up for inadequate production.