Wind Power

Electricity from modern windpower has been demonstrated using technologically advanced wind turbine designs. Modern wind turbines generate electricity through the action of the wind on aerofoil blades. Most of these are land-based and can either be connected to an electricity grid or be non-grid connected, with some form of back-up or storage. Steady, fairly high winds (20 km/h), without lulls and high gusts, are needed for commercial electricity generation. These conditions are not rare, which has permitted a relative success in wind power development. More recently, the potential to site turbines offshore is being investigated and developed. Wind energy can also be used to generate heat and mechanical power.

Today, world-wide wind power generation capacity is close to 40,000 MW. Moreover, the international wind energy industry is expecting significant growth in the next few years – by 2012 a total of 150,000 megawatts (MW) of installed power are expected world-wide, representing a growth of 110,000 MW. Germany, with an installed capacity of almost 15,000 MW, is the clear leader in this technology. Other important players include Spain (6,400 MW), the US (6,300 MW), Denmark (3,000 MW) and India (2,100 MW).