Using what they say is the most sophisticated climate model ever
created, researchers at Stanford University's School of
Engineering and the University of Delaware claim that there's
enough wind over land and at sea combined to produce at least
half the world's power demand by 2030. Mark Z. Jacobson,
professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford,
and Cristina Archer, associate professor of geography and
physical ocean science and engineering at the University of
Delaware, adapted the three-dimensional, atmosphere-ocean-land
computer model GATOR-GCMOM to calculate the planet's theoretical
maximum wind power potential. Their model takes into account the
reductions in wind speed caused by turbines. It also assumes
that wind turbines can be located anywhere, regardless of
environmental, climatic, economic, or societal factors. Results
of the team's study were published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (purchase or subscription
required). Researchers at Stanford University's Sc