Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by VintageCool 1757 days ago
I assumed (generously) that they were talking about capacity factor. Most wind power plants have a capacity factor between 0.25 and 0.5, which has been increasing over time. We are now able to build taller towers with longer blades, and that makes a difference. From the PDF:

> The average 2020 capacity factor among projects built from 2014 to 2019 was 41.4%, compared to an average of 29.0% among projects built from 2004 to 2011, and 25.2% among projects built from 1998 to 2001. This improvement among more-recently built projects has pushed the cumulative fleet-wide capacity factor higher over time, reaching 36% in 2020.