  Wind energy is key for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting
increasing energy demand. Long-term changes in wind resources were extensively
studied but notable gaps remain. Meanwhile, the temporal changes and
compounding risks received little attention. Here we analyze large-ensemble
climate simulations and show that anthropogenic warming can contribute to
significant wind stilling, particularly in the warm season of the northern
hemisphere midlatitudes. The stilling is related to the amplified warming of
the midlatitude land and mid-to-upper troposphere. At representative US sites,
the stilling will unlikely threaten the cost-competitiveness of onshore wind
relative to fossil energy. However, its impact can exceed a large interest
increase and make wind energy less cost-competitive than other clean energy.
Moreover, the summertime stilling coincides with surging cooling demand in the
midlatitudes and may bring challenges to energy security. The findings about
wind stilling and its implications may help inform future energy investments.
