Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Wind energy

Wind droughts threaten energy reliability

Wind energy is helping to mitigate climate change. But now a study shows that climate change may make wind power less reliable.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Pryor, S. C., Letson, F. W. & Barthelmie, R. J. J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 59, 2021–2039 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Wilczak, J. M., Akish, E., Capotondi, A. & Compo, G. P. Energies 17, 1667 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bloomfield, H. What Europe’s exceptionally low winds mean for the future energy grid. Global Policy https://go.nature.com/3TkE3Nm (22 October 2021).

  4. Rife, D., Krakauer, N., Cohan, D. & Collier, C. A new kind of drought: U.S. record low windiness in 2015. Earthzine https://go.nature.com/44DtnOP (10 June 2016).

  5. Qu, M. et al. Nat. Clim. Change https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02387-x (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Tracking wind electricity. IEA https://go.nature.com/44v7H8V (accessed 15 July 2025).

  7. Massive global growth of renewables to 2030 is set to match entire power capacity of major economies today, moving world closer to tripling goal. IEA https://go.nature.com/4nvQbZs (9 October 2024).

  8. Pryor, S. C. & Barthelmie, R. J. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 108, 8167–8171 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Haupt, S. E. et al. J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 55, 345–363 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Pryor, S. C., Coburn, J. J., Barthelmie, R. J. & Shepherd, T. J. J. Appl. Meteorol. Climatol. 62, 63–80 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Wilczak, J. M., Kirk-Davidoff, D. B., Bloomfield, H., Bracken, C. & Sharp, J. J. Renew. Sustain. Energy 17, 022301 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sue Ellen Haupt.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Haupt, S.E. Wind droughts threaten energy reliability. Nat. Clim. Chang. 15, 814–815 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02383-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-025-02383-1

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene