The paper provides an overview of the historical development of wind energy technology and discusses the current status of grid-connected as well as stand-alone wind power generation worldwide. During the last decade of the 20th century, grid-connected wind capacity worldwide has doubled approximately every three years. Due to the fast market development, wind turbine technology has experienced an important evolution over time. An overview of the different design approaches is given and issues like power grid integration, economics, environmental impact and special system applications, such as offshore wind energy, are discussed. Due to the complexity of the wind energy technology, however, this paper mainly aims at presenting a brief overview of the relevant wind turbine and wind project issues. Therefore, detailed information on further readings and related organisations is included.