pilom's answer was good, but a good metaphor is to compare light bulbs; Does a 100W light bulb use more energy than a 75W light bulb? It depends on how long e

pilom's answer was good, but a good metaphor is to compare light bulbs; Does a 100W light bulb use more energy than a 75W light bulb? It depends on how long each bulb is turned on. The same relationship exists between energy sources. Does 60GW of wind power create more energy than 70GW of solar power? It depends on how much the wind blows and how long the sun shines. If you divide the actual energy production by the ideal amount of energy production (aka if the wind blew steadily every minute of every day), that will give you your capacity factor.