<i>One downside often cited by advocates of coal and gas power is that wind turbines require a lot more maintenance than a typical coal or gas power plant. But in a lagging economy this might just be wind power’s biggest upside — it will create lots and lots of permanent jobs, sparking a new cycle of economic growth in America.</i><p>And if that doesn't work, we can just break a bunch of windows and hire people to fix them.
South Australia has one of the highest wind penetrations in the world, they recently had a peak of 60% electricity being supplied by the wind.<p>Though with the higher wind penetration levels wind farm operators in South Australia are facing a problem with the current electricity market design. When the wind blows, there is a surplus of electricity supply. The price for electricity dives, sometimes to -$1000 / MWh. Yes that is correct, the price goes below zero and consumers are paid to use electricity.<p>And conversely when the wind is not blowing, traditional fossil fuel power stations are able to bid much higher prices without fear of competition.<p>An interesting challenge for electricity market designers to solve.