Let’s explore some real-world data to see how much electricity wind turbines generate compared to what we use.

Electricity Generated (by Wind)

This graph shows how much electricity was generated by wind turbines across the U.S during the week of Nov 15-22nd.

This line graph shows how much electricity was made by wind turbines in the U.S. from November 15 to November 22, 2024. The amount changes a lot, with the highest around 80,000 megawatt-hours and the lowest below 30,000 megawatt-hours.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor (accessed November 22, 2024)

Notice how the amount of electricity generated changes over time. What do you think causes these changes?

Energy Demand

This graph shows how much electricity was used across the U.S. during the same week.

This line graph shows how much electricity people in the U.S. used each day from November 15 to November 22, 2024. The amount cycles daily, with the highest use around 500,000 megawatt-hours and the lowest around 350,000 megawatt-hours.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor (accessed November 22, 2024)

Can you spot the peaks (when people use the most electricity) and valleys (when they use the least)?

THINK, PAIR, SHARE

  1. How much electricity are people using compared to how much is generated by wind?
  2. What problems do you see when comparing the two graphs? How might we solve these problems?