Title: Wind power
Subject: Renewable energy, Canadian Hydro Developers, Sustainable energy, Renewable energy/Renewable energy news/Archive, Wind power in the European Union
Collection: Renewable Energy, Wind Power
Wind power stations in Xinjiang, China
Global growth of installed capacity[1]
Part of a series about
Low-carbon power
Carbon-neutral fuel
Fossil-fuel phase-out
Sustainable development portal
Renewable energy portal
Environment portal
Wind power is extracted from air flow using wind turbines or sails to produce mechanical or electrical power. Windmills are used for their mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping, and sails to propel ships. Wind power as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation, and uses little land.[2] The net effects on the environment are far less problematic than those of nonrenewable power sources.
Wind farms consist of many individual wind turbines which are connected to the electric power transmission network. Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electricity, competitive with or in many places cheaper than coal or gas plants.[3][4][5] Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land, and offshore farms have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher. Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide electricity to isolated off-grid locations.[6]
Wind power is very consistent from year to year but has significant variation over shorter time scales. It is therefore used in conjunction with other electric power sources to give a reliable supply. As the proportion of windpower in a region increases, a need to upgrade the grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production can occur.[7][8] Power management techniques such as having excess capacity, geographically distributed turbines, dispatchable backing sources, sufficient hydroelectric power, exporting and importing power to neighboring areas, using vehicle-to-grid strategies or reducing demand when wind production is low, can in many cases overcome these problems.[9][10] In addition, weather forecasting permits the electricity network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur.[11][12][13]
As of 2014, Denmark has been generating around 40% of its electricity from wind,[14][15] and at least 83 other countries around the world are using wind power to supply their electricity grids.[16] Wind power capacity has expanded to 369,553 MW by December 2014,[17] and total wind energy production is growing rapidly and has reached around 4% of worldwide electricity usage.[18]
Wind farms 2
Generator characteristics and stability 2.1
Offshore wind power 2.2
Collection and transmission network 2.3
Wind power capacity and production 3
Growth trends 3.1
Capacity factor 3.2
Penetration 3.3
Variability 3.4
Predictability 3.5
Energy storage 3.6
Capacity credit, fuel savings and energy payback 3.7
Electricity cost and trends 4.1
Incentives and community benefits 4.2
Small-scale wind power 5
Environmental effects 6
Central government 7.1
Public opinion 7.2
Community 7.3
Turbine design 8
Wind energy 9
Further reading 14
Charles Brush's windmill of 1888, used for generating electricity.
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the wind. For more than two millennia wind-powered machines have ground grain and pumped water. Wind power was widely available and not confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later, requiring sources of fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands, and in arid regions such as the American mid-west or the Australian outback, wind pumps provided water for live stock and steam engines.
The first windmill used for the production of electricity was built in Scotland in July 1887 by Prof James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow (the precursor of Strathclyde University).[19] Blyth's 10 m high, cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage at Marykirk in Kincardineshire and was used to charge accumulators developed by the Frenchman Camille Alphonse Faure, to power the lighting in the cottage,[19] thus making it the first house in the world to have its electricity supplied by wind power.[20] Blyth offered the surplus electricity to the people of Marykirk for lighting the main street, however, they turned down the offer as they thought electricity was "the work of the devil."[19] Although he later built a wind turbine to supply emergency power to the local Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary and Dispensary of Montrose the invention never really caught on as the technology was not considered to be economically viable.[19]
Across the Atlantic, in Cleveland, Ohio a larger and heavily engineered machine was designed and constructed in the winter of 1887–1888 by Charles F. Brush,[21] this was built by his engineering company at his home and operated from 1886 until 1900.[22] The Brush wind turbine had a rotor 17 m (56 foot) in diameter and was mounted on an 18 m (60 foot) tower. Although large by today's standards, the machine was only rated at 12 kW. The connected dynamo was used either to charge a bank of batteries or to operate up to 100 incandescent light bulbs, three arc lamps, and various motors in Brush's laboratory.[23]
With the development of electric power, wind power found new applications in lighting buildings remote from centrally-generated power. Throughout the 20th century parallel paths developed small wind stations suitable for farms or residences, and larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electricity grids for remote use of power. Today wind powered generators operate in every size range between tiny stations for battery charging at isolated residences, up to near-gigawatt sized offshore wind farms that provide electricity to national electrical networks.
Large onshore wind farms
Gansu Wind Farm 6,000 China [24][25]
Alta (Oak Creek-Mojave) 1,320 United States [26]
Jaisalmer Wind Park 1,064 India [27]
Shepherds Flat Wind Farm 845 United States [28]
Roscoe Wind Farm 782 United States [29]
Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center 736 United States [30][31]
Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm 662 United States [30][31]
Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm 600 Romania [32]
Fowler Ridge Wind Farm 600 United States [33]
Whitelee Wind Farm 539 United Kingdom [34]
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used for production of electricity. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. For example, Gansu Wind Farm, the largest wind farm in the world, has several thousand turbines. A wind farm may also be located offshore.
Almost all large wind turbines have the same design — a horizontal axis wind turbine having an upwind rotor with three blades, attached to a nacelle on top of a tall tubular tower.
In a wind farm, individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage (often 34.5 kV), power collection system and communications network. At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a transformer for connection to the high voltage electric power transmission system.
Generator characteristics and stability
Induction generators, which were often used for wind power projects in the 1980s and 1990s, require reactive power for excitation so substations used in wind-power collection systems include substantial capacitor banks for power factor correction. Different types of wind turbine generators behave differently during transmission grid disturbances, so extensive modelling of the dynamic electromechanical characteristics of a new wind farm is required by transmission system operators to ensure predictable stable behaviour during system faults. In particular, induction generators cannot support the system voltage during faults, unlike steam or hydro turbine-driven synchronous generators.
Today these generators aren't used any more in modern turbines. Instead today most turbines use variable speed generators combined with partial- or full-scale power converter between the turbine generator and the collector system, which generally have more desirable properties for grid interconnection and have Low voltage ride through-capabilities. Modern concepts use either doubly fed machines with partial-scale converters or squirrel-cage induction generators or synchronous generators (both permanently and electrically excited) with full scale converters.[35]
Transmission systems operators will supply a wind farm developer with a grid code to specify the requirements for interconnection to the transmission grid. This will include power factor, constancy of frequency and dynamic behaviour of the wind farm turbines during a system fault.[36][37]
The world's second full-scale floating wind turbine (and first to be installed without the use of heavy-lift vessels), WindFloat, operating at rated capacity (2 MW) approximately 5 km offshore of Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Offshore wind power refers to the construction of wind farms in large bodies of water to generate electricity. These installations can utilize the more frequent and powerful winds that are available in these locations and have less aesthetic impact on the landscape than land based projects. However, the construction and the maintenance costs are considerably higher.[38][39]
Siemens and Vestas are the leading turbine suppliers for offshore wind power. DONG Energy, Vattenfall and E.ON are the leading offshore operators.[40] As of October 2010, 3.16 GW of offshore wind power capacity was operational, mainly in Northern Europe. According to BTM Consult, more than 16 GW of additional capacity will be installed before the end of 2014 and the UK and Germany will become the two leading markets. Offshore wind power capacity is expected to reach a total of 75 GW worldwide by 2020, with significant contributions from China and the US.[40]
At the end of 2012, 1,662 turbines at 55 offshore wind farms in 10 European countries are generating 18 TWh, which can power almost five million households.[41] As of August 2013 the London Array in the United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 630 MW. This is followed by Gwynt y Môr (576 MW), also in the UK.[42]
World's largest offshore wind farms
Capacity (MW)
Turbines and model
London Array 630 United Kingdom 175 × Siemens SWT-3.6 2012 [43][44][45]
Gwynt y Môr 576 United Kingdom 160 × Siemens SWT-3.6 107 2015 [42]
Greater Gabbard 504 United Kingdom 140 × Siemens SWT-3.6 2012 [46]
Anholt 400 Denmark 111 × Siemens SWT-3.6–120 2013 [47]
BARD Offshore 1 400 Germany 80 BARD 5.0 turbines 2013 [48]
Collection and transmission network
In a wind farm, individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage (usually 34.5 kV) power collection system and communications network. At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a transformer for connection to the high voltage electric power transmission system.
A transmission line is required to bring the generated power to (often remote) markets. For an off-shore plant this may require a submarine cable. Construction of a new high-voltage line may be too costly for the wind resource alone, but wind sites may take advantage of lines installed for conventionally fueled generation.
One of the biggest current challenges to wind power grid integration in the United States is the necessity of developing new transmission lines to carry power from wind farms, usually in remote lowly populated states in the middle of the country due to availability of wind, to high load locations, usually on the coasts where population density is higher. The current transmission lines in remote locations were not designed for the transport of large amounts of energy.[49] As transmission lines become longer the losses associated with power transmission increase, as modes of losses at lower lengths are exacerbated and new modes of losses are no longer negligible as the length is increased, making it harder transport large loads over large distances.[50] However, resistance from state and local governments makes it difficult to construct new transmission lines. Multi state power transmission projects are discouraged by states with cheap electricity rates for fear that exporting their cheap power will lead to increased rates. A 2005 energy law gave the Energy Department authority to approve transmission projects states refused to act on, but after an attempt to use this authority, the Senate declared the department was being overly aggressive in doing so.[49] Another problem is that wind companies find out after the fact that the transmission capacity of a new farm is below the generation capacity, largely because federal utility rules to encourage renewable energy installation allow feeder lines to meet only minimum standards. These are important issues that need to be solved, as when the transmission capacity does not meet the generation capacity, wind farms are forced to produce below their full potential or stop running all together, in a process known as curtailment. While this leads to potential renewable generation left untapped, it prevents possible grid overload or risk to reliable service.[51]
Wind power capacity and production
Worldwide wind generation up to 2012 (Source EIA, January 2015).[52]
Global annual new installed wind capacity 1997–2014 (in MW)[17]:3
Worldwide there are now over two hundred thousand wind turbines operating, with a total nameplate capacity of 282,482 MW as of end 2012.[53] The European Union alone passed some 100,000 MW nameplate capacity in September 2012,[54] while the United States surpassed 50,000 MW in August 2012 and China's grid connected capacity passed 50,000 MW the same month.[55][56]
World wind generation capacity more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006, doubling about every three years. The United States pioneered wind farms and led the world in installed capacity in the 1980s and into the 1990s. In 1997 installed capacity in Germany surpassed the U.S. and led until once again overtaken by the U.S. in 2008. China has been rapidly expanding its wind installations in the late 2000s and passed the U.S. in 2010 to become the world leader. As of 2011, 83 countries around the world were using wind power on a commercial basis.[16]
Wind power capacity has expanded rapidly to 336 GW in June 2014, and wind energy production was around 4% of total worldwide electricity usage, and growing rapidly.[18] The actual amount of electricity that wind is able to generate is calculated by multiplying the nameplate capacity by the capacity factor, which varies according to equipment and location. Estimates of the capacity factors for wind installations are in the range of 35% to 44%.[57]
Europe accounted for 48% of the world total wind power generation capacity in 2009. In 2010, Spain became Europe's leading producer of wind energy, achieving 42,976 GWh. Germany held the top spot in Europe in terms of installed capacity, with a total of 27,215 MW as of 31 December 2010.[58]
China: 23,351 MW (45.4%)
Germany: 5,279 MW (10.3%)
United States: 4,854 MW (9.4%)
Brazil: 2,472 MW (4.8%)
India: 2,315 MW (4.5%)
Canada: 1,871 MW (3.6%)
United Kingdom: 1,736 MW (3.4%)
Sweden: 1,050 MW (2.0%)
France: 1,042 MW (2.0%)
Turkey: 804 MW (1.6%)
Rest of the world: 6,702 MW (13.0%)
Worldwide new installed capacity, 2014[17]
China: 114,763 MW (31.1%)
United States: 65,879 MW (17.8%)
Germany: 39,165 MW (10.6%)
Spain: 22,987 MW (6.2%)
India: 22,465 MW (6.1%)
United Kingdom: 12,440 MW (3.4%)
Italy: 8,663 MW (2.3%)
Rest of the world: 58,275 MW (15.8%)
Worldwide cumulative capacity, 2014[17]
Top windpower electricity producing countries in 2012 (TWh)
Windpower Production
% of World Total
United States 140.9 26.4
China 118.1 22.1
Spain 49.1 9.2
Germany 46.0 8.6
India 30.0 5.6
United Kingdom 19.6 3.7
France 14.9 2.8
Italy 13.4 2.5
Canada 11.8 2.2
Denmark 10.3 1.9
(rest of world) 80.2 15.0
World Total
534.3 TWh
Source:Observ'ER – Electricity Production From Wind Sources[59]
Growth trends
Worldwide installed wind power capacity forecast (Source: Global Wind Energy Council)[1][60]
In 2010, more than half of all new wind power was added outside of the traditional markets in Europe and North America. This was largely from new construction in China, which accounted for nearly half the new wind installations (16.5 GW).[61]
Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) figures show that 2007 recorded an increase of installed capacity of 20 GW, taking the total installed wind energy capacity to 94 GW, up from 74 GW in 2006. Despite constraints facing supply chains for wind turbines, the annual market for wind continued to increase at an estimated rate of 37%, following 32% growth in 2006. In terms of economic value, the wind energy sector has become one of the important players in the energy markets, with the total value of new generating equipment installed in 2007 reaching €25 billion, or US$36 billion.[62]
Although the wind power industry was affected by the global financial crisis in 2009 and 2010, a BTM Consult five-year forecast up to 2013 projects substantial growth. Over the past five years the average growth in new installations has been 27.6% each year. In the forecast to 2013 the expected average annual growth rate is 15.7%.[63][64] More than 200 GW of new wind power capacity could come on line before the end of 2014. Wind power market penetration is expected to reach 3.35% by 2013 and 8% by 2018.[63][64]
In 2013 wind power constituted 13% of installed power generation capacity in the EU and generated 7.8% of power used[65]
Capacity factor
Since wind speed is not constant, a wind farm's annual energy production is never as much as the sum of the generator nameplate ratings multiplied by the total hours in a year. The ratio of actual productivity in a year to this theoretical maximum is called the capacity factor. Typical capacity factors are 15–50%; values at the upper end of the range are achieved in favourable sites and are due to wind turbine design improvements.[66][67][nb 1]
Online data is available for some locations, and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.[68][69] For example, the German nationwide average wind power capacity factor over all of 2012 was just under 17.5% (45867 GW·h/yr / (29.9 GW × 24 × 366) = 0.1746),[70] and the capacity factor for Scottish wind farms averaged 24% between 2008 and 2010.[71]
Unlike fueled generating plants, the capacity factor is affected by several parameters, including the variability of the wind at the site and the size of the generator relative to the turbine's swept area. A small generator would be cheaper and achieve a higher capacity factor but would produce less electricity (and thus less profit) in high winds. Conversely, a large generator would cost more but generate little extra power and, depending on the type, may stall out at low wind speed. Thus an optimum capacity factor of around 40–50% would be aimed for.[67][72]
A 2008 study released by the U.S. Department of Energy noted that the capacity factor of new wind installations was increasing as the technology improves, and projected further improvements for future capacity factors.[73] In 2010, the department estimated the capacity factor of new wind turbines in 2010 to be 45%.[74] The annual average capacity factor for wind generation in the US has varied between 28.1% and 32.3% during the period 2008–2013.[75]
[76] 39%
Portugal (2011)[77] 19%
Spain (2011)[78] 16%
Ireland (2012)[79] 16%
United Kingdom (2014)[80] 9.3%
Germany (2011)[81] 8%
United States (2013)[82] 4.5%
Wind energy penetration refers to the fraction of energy produced by wind compared with the total generation. There is no generally accepted maximum level of wind penetration. The limit for a particular grid will depend on the existing generating plants, pricing mechanisms, capacity for energy storage, demand management and other factors. An interconnected electricity grid will already include reserve generating and transmission capacity to allow for equipment failures. This reserve capacity can also serve to compensate for the varying power generation produced by wind stations. Studies have indicated that 20% of the total annual electrical energy consumption may be incorporated with minimal difficulty.[83] These studies have been for locations with geographically dispersed wind farms, some degree of dispatchable energy or hydropower with storage capacity, demand management, and interconnected to a large grid area enabling the export of electricity when needed. Beyond the 20% level, there are few technical limits, but the economic implications become more significant. Electrical utilities continue to study the effects of large scale penetration of wind generation on system stability and economics.[84][85][86][87]
A wind energy penetration figure can be specified for different durations of time, but is often quoted annually. To obtain 100% from wind annually requires substantial long term storage or substantial interconnection to other systems which may already have substantial storage. On a monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly basis—or less—wind might supply as much as or more than 100% of current use, with the rest stored or exported. Seasonal industry might then take advantage of high wind and low usage times such as at night when wind output can exceed normal demand. Such industry might include production of silicon, aluminum,[88] steel, or of natural gas, and hydrogen, and using future long term storage to facilitate 100% energy from variable renewable energy.[89][90] Homes can also be programmed to accept extra electricity on demand, for example by remotely turning up water heater thermostats.[91]
In Australia, the state of South Australia generates around half of the nation's wind power capacity. By the end of 2011 wind power in South Australia, championed by Premier (and Climate Change Minister) Mike Rann, reached 26% of the State's electricity generation, edging out coal for the first time.[92] At this stage South Australia, with only 7.2% of Australia's population, had 54% of Australia's installed capacity.[78][92]
Windmills are typically installed in favourable windy locations. In the image, wind power generators in Spain, near an Osborne bull.
Electricity generated from wind power can be highly variable at several different timescales: hourly, daily, or seasonally. Annual variation also exists, but is not as significant. Because instantaneous electrical generation and consumption must remain in balance to maintain grid stability, this variability can present substantial challenges to incorporating large amounts of wind power into a grid system. Intermittency and the non-dispatchable nature of wind energy production can raise costs for regulation, incremental operating reserve, and (at high penetration levels) could require an increase in the already existing energy demand management, load shedding, storage solutions or system interconnection with HVDC cables.
Fluctuations in load and allowance for failure of large fossil-fuel generating units require reserve capacity that can also compensate for variability of wind generation.
Increase in system operation costs, Euros per MWh, for 10% & 20% wind share[7]
Germany 2.5 3.2
Denmark 0.4 0.8
Finland 0.3 1.5
Norway 0.1 0.3
Sweden 0.3 0.7
Wind power is variable, and during low wind periods it must be replaced by other power sources. Transmission networks presently cope with outages of other generation plants and daily changes in electrical demand, but the variability of intermittent power sources such as wind power, are unlike those of conventional power generation plants which, when scheduled to be operating, may be able to deliver their nameplate capacity around 95% of the time.
Presently, grid systems with large wind penetration require a small increase in the frequency of usage of natural gas spinning reserve power plants to prevent a loss of electricity in the event that conditions are not favorable for power production from the wind. At lower wind power grid penetration, this is less of an issue.[93][94][95]
GE has installed a prototype wind turbine with onboard battery similar to that of an electric car, equivalent of 1 minute of production. Despite the small capacity, it is enough to guarantee that power output complies with forecast for 15 minutes, as the battery is used to eliminate the difference rather than provide full output. The increased predictability can be used to take wind power penetration from 20 to 30 or 40 per cent. The battery cost can be retrieved by selling burst power on demand and reducing backup needs from gas plants.[96]
A report on Denmark's wind power noted that their wind power network provided less than 1% of average demand on 54 days during the year 2002.[97] Wind power advocates argue that these periods of low wind can be dealt with by simply restarting existing power stations that have been held in readiness, or interlinking with HVDC.[98] Electrical grids with slow-responding thermal power plants and without ties to networks with hydroelectric generation may have to limit the use of wind power.[97] According to a 2007 Stanford University study published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, interconnecting ten or more wind farms can allow an average of 33% of the total energy produced (i.e. about 8% of total nameplate capacity) to be used as reliable, baseload electric power which can be relied on to handle peak loads, as long as minimum criteria are met for wind speed and turbine height.[99][100]
Conversely, on particularly windy days, even with penetration levels of 16%, wind power generation can surpass all other electricity sources in a country. In Spain, in the early hours of 16 April 2012 wind power production reached the highest percentage of electricity production till then, at 60.46% of the total demand.[101] In Denmark, which had power market penetration of 30% in 2013, over 90 hours, wind power generated 100% of the country's power, peaking at 122% of the country's demand at 2 am on 28 October.[102]
A 2006 International Energy Agency forum presented costs for managing intermittency as a function of wind-energy's share of total capacity for several countries, as shown in the table on the right. Three reports on the wind variability in the UK issued in 2009, generally agree that variability of wind needs to be taken into account, but it does not make the grid unmanageable. The additional costs, which are modest, can be quantified.[8]
The combination of diversifying variable renewables by type and location, forecasting their variation, and integrating them with dispatchable renewables, flexible fueled generators, and demand response can create a power system that has the potential to meet power supply needs reliably. Integrating ever-higher levels of renewables is being successfully demonstrated in the real world:[103]
In 2009, eight American and three European authorities, writing in the leading electrical engineers' professional journal, didn't find "a credible and firm technical limit to the amount of wind energy that can be accommodated by electricity grids". In fact, not one of more than 200 international studies, nor official studies for the eastern and western U.S. regions, nor the International Energy Agency, has found major costs or technical barriers to reliably integrating up to 30% variable renewable supplies into the grid, and in some studies much more. – Reinventing Fire[103]
Solar power tends to be complementary to wind.[104][105] On daily to weekly timescales, high pressure areas tend to bring clear skies and low surface winds, whereas low pressure areas tend to be windier and cloudier. On seasonal timescales, solar energy peaks in summer, whereas in many areas wind energy is lower in summer and higher in winter.[nb 2][106] Thus the intermittencies of wind and solar power tend to cancel each other somewhat. In 2007 the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Technology of the University of Kassel pilot-tested a combined power plant linking solar, wind, biogas and hydrostorage to provide load-following power around the clock and throughout the year, entirely from renewable sources.[107]
Wind power forecasting methods are used, but predictability of any particular wind farm is low for short-term operation. For any particular generator there is an 80% chance that wind output will change less than 10% in an hour and a 40% chance that it will change 10% or more in 5 hours.[108]
However, studies by Graham Sinden (2009) suggest that, in practice, the variations in thousands of wind turbines, spread out over several different sites and wind regimes, are smoothed. As the distance between sites increases, the correlation between wind speeds measured at those sites, decreases.[109]
Thus, while the output from a single turbine can vary greatly and rapidly as local wind speeds vary, as more turbines are connected over larger and larger areas the average power output becomes less variable and more predictable.[13][110]
Wind power hardly ever suffers major technical failures, since failures of individual wind turbines have hardly any effect on overall power, so that the distributed wind power is reliable and predictable,[111] whereas conventional generators, while far less variable, can suffer major unpredictable outages.
Main article: Grid energy storage. See also: List of energy storage projects.
The Sir Adam Beck Generating Complex at Niagara Falls, Canada, includes a large pumped-storage hydroelectricity reservoir. During hours of low electrical demand excess electrical grid power is used to pump water up into the reservoir, which then provides an extra 174 MW of electricity during periods of peak demand.
Typically, conventional hydroelectricity complements wind power very well. When the wind is blowing strongly, nearby hydroelectric stations can temporarily hold back their water. When the wind drops they can, provided they have the generation capacity, rapidly increase production to compensate. This gives a very even overall power supply and virtually no loss of energy and uses no more water.
Alternatively, where a suitable head of water is not available, pumped-storage hydroelectricity or other forms of grid energy storage such as compressed air energy storage and thermal energy storage can store energy developed by high-wind periods and release it when needed.[112] The type of storage needed depends on the wind penetration level – low penetration requires daily storage, and high penetration requires both short and long term storage – as long as a month or more. Stored energy increases the economic value of wind energy since it can be shifted to displace higher cost generation during peak demand periods. The potential revenue from this arbitrage can offset the cost and losses of storage; the cost of storage may add 25% to the cost of any wind energy stored but it is not envisaged that this would apply to a large proportion of wind energy generated. For example, in the UK, the 1.7 GW Dinorwig pumped-storage plant evens out electrical demand peaks, and allows base-load suppliers to run their plants more efficiently. Although pumped-storage power systems are only about 75% efficient, and have high installation costs, their low running costs and ability to reduce the required electrical base-load can save both fuel and total electrical generation costs.[113][114]
In particular geographic regions, peak wind speeds may not coincide with peak demand for electrical power. In the U.S. states of California and Texas, for example, hot days in summer may have low wind speed and high electrical demand due to the use of air conditioning. Some utilities subsidize the purchase of geothermal heat pumps by their customers, to reduce electricity demand during the summer months by making air conditioning up to 70% more efficient;[115] widespread adoption of this technology would better match electricity demand to wind availability in areas with hot summers and low summer winds. A possible future option may be to interconnect widely dispersed geographic areas with an HVDC "super grid". In the U.S. it is estimated that to upgrade the transmission system to take in planned or potential renewables would cost at least $60 billion,[116] while the society value of added windpower would be more than that cost.[82]
Germany has an installed capacity of wind and solar that can exceed daily demand, and has been exporting peak power to neighboring countries, with exports which amounted to some 14.7 billion kilowatt hours in 2012.[117] A more practical solution is the installation of thirty days storage capacity able to supply 80% of demand, which will become necessary when most of Europe's energy is obtained from wind power and solar power. Just as the EU requires member countries to maintain 90 days strategic reserves of oil it can be expected that countries will provide electricity storage, instead of expecting to use their neighbors for net metering.[118]
Capacity credit, fuel savings and energy payback
The capacity credit of wind is estimated by determining the capacity of conventional plants displaced by wind power, whilst maintaining the same degree of system security.[119] However, the precise value is irrelevant since the main value of wind is its fuel and CO2 savings, and wind is not expected to be constantly available.[120]
The energy needed to build a wind farm divided into the total output over its life, Energy Return on Energy Invested, of wind power varies but averages about 20–25.[121] Thus, the energy payback time is typically around one year.
Wind turbines reached grid parity (the point at which the cost of wind power matches traditional sources) in some areas of Europe in the mid-2000s, and in the US around the same time. Falling prices continue to drive the levelized cost down and it has been suggested that it has reached general grid parity in Europe in 2010, and will reach the same point in the US around 2016 due to an expected reduction in capital costs of about 12%.[122]
Electricity cost and trends
Estimated cost per MWh for wind power in Denmark
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory projects that the levelized cost of wind power in the U.S. will decline about 25% from 2012 to 2030.[123]
A turbine blade convoy passing through Edenfield in the U.K. (2008). Even longer two-piece blades are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation.
Wind power is capital intensive, but has no fuel costs.[124] The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources.[125] The marginal cost of wind energy once a station is constructed is usually less than 1-cent per kW·h.[126]
However, the estimated average cost per unit of electricity must incorporate the cost of construction of the turbine and transmission facilities, borrowed funds, return to investors (including cost of risk), estimated annual production, and other components, averaged over the projected useful life of the equipment, which may be in excess of twenty years. Energy cost estimates are highly dependent on these assumptions so published cost figures can differ substantially. In 2004, wind energy cost a fifth of what it did in the 1980s, and some expected that downward trend to continue as larger multi-megawatt turbines were mass-produced.[127] As of 2012 capital costs for wind turbines are substantially lower than 2008–2010 but are still above 2002 levels.[128] A 2011 report from the American Wind Energy Association stated, "Wind's costs have dropped over the past two years, in the range of 5 to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour recently.... about 2 cents cheaper than coal-fired electricity, and more projects were financed through debt arrangements than tax equity structures last year.... winning more mainstream acceptance from Wall Street's banks.... Equipment makers can also deliver products in the same year that they are ordered instead of waiting up to three years as was the case in previous cycles.... 5,600 MW of new installed capacity is under construction in the United States, more than double the number at this point in 2010. Thirty-five percent of all new power generation built in the United States since 2005 has come from wind, more than new gas and coal plants combined, as power providers are increasingly enticed to wind as a convenient hedge against unpredictable commodity price moves."[129]
A British Wind Energy Association report gives an average generation cost of onshore wind power of around 3.2 pence (between US 5 and 6 cents) per kW·h (2005).[130] Cost per unit of energy produced was estimated in 2006 to be 5 to 6 percent above the cost of new generating capacity in the US for coal and natural gas: wind cost was estimated at $55.80 per MW·h, coal at $53.10/MW·h and natural gas at $52.50.[131] Similar comparative results with natural gas were obtained in a governmental study in the UK in 2011.[132] In 2011 power from wind turbines could be already cheaper than fossil or nuclear plants; it is also expected that wind power will be the cheapest form of energy generation in the future.[133] The presence of wind energy, even when subsidised, can reduce costs for consumers (€5 billion/yr in Germany) by reducing the marginal price, by minimising the use of expensive peaking power plants.[134]
In February 2013 Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reported that the cost of generating electricity from new wind farms is cheaper than new coal or new baseload gas plants. When including the current Australian federal government carbon pricing scheme their modeling gives costs (in Australian dollars) of $80/MWh for new wind farms, $143/MWh for new coal plants and $116/MWh for new baseload gas plants. The modeling also shows that "even without a carbon price (the most efficient way to reduce economy-wide emissions) wind energy is 14% cheaper than new coal and 18% cheaper than new gas."[135] Part of the higher costs for new coal plants is due to high financial lending costs because of "the reputational damage of emissions-intensive investments". The expense of gas fired plants is partly due to "export market" effects on local prices. Costs of production from coal fired plants built in "the 1970s and 1980s" are cheaper than renewable energy sources because of depreciation.[135] In 2015 BNEF calculated LCOE prices per MWh energy in new powerplants (excluding carbon costs) : $85 for onshore wind ($175 for offshore), $66–75 for coal in the Americas ($82–105 in Europe), gas $80–100.[136][137][138]
An EU study shows base cost of onshore wind power similar to coal, when subsidies and externalities are disregarded. Wind power has some of the lowest external costs.[139]
This cost has additionally reduced as wind turbine technology has improved. There are now longer and lighter wind turbine blades, improvements in turbine performance and increased power generation efficiency. Also, wind project capital and maintenance costs have continued to decline.[140] For example, the wind industry in the USA as of early 2014 is able to produce more power at lower cost by using taller wind turbines with longer blades, capturing the faster winds at higher elevations. This has opened up new opportunities and in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, the price of power from wind turbines built 300 feet to 400 feet above the ground can now compete with conventional fossil fuels like coal. Prices have fallen to about 4 cents per kilowatt-hour in some cases and utilities have been increasing the amount of wind energy in their portfolio, saying it is their cheapest option.[141]
A number of initiatives are working to reduce costs of electricity from offshore wind. One example is the Carbon Trust Offshore Wind Accelerator, a joint industry project, involving nine offshore wind developers, which aims to reduce the cost of offshore wind by 10% by 2015. It has been suggested that innovation at scale could deliver 25% cost reduction in offshore wind by 2020.[142] Henrik Stiesdal, former Chief Technical Officer at Siemens Wind Power, has stated that by 2025 energy from offshore wind will be one of the cheapest, scalable solutions in the UK, compared to other renewables and fossil fuel energy sources, if the true cost to society is factored into the cost of energy equation.[143] He calculates the cost at that time to be 43 EUR/MWh for onshore, and 72 EUR/MWh for offshore wind.[144]
Incentives and community benefits
U.S. landowners typically receive $3,000–$5,000 annual rental income per wind turbine, while farmers continue to grow crops or graze cattle up to the foot of the turbines.[145] Shown: the Brazos Wind Farm, Texas.
Some of the 6,000 turbines in California's Altamont Pass Wind Farm aided by tax incentives during the 1980s.[146]
The U.S. wind industry generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity.[147] Wind projects provide local taxes, or payments in lieu of taxes and strengthen the economy of rural communities by providing income to farmers with wind turbines on their land.[145][148] Wind energy in many jurisdictions receives financial or other support to encourage its development. Wind energy benefits from subsidies in many jurisdictions, either to increase its attractiveness, or to compensate for subsidies received by other forms of production which have significant negative externalities.
In the US, wind power receives a production tax credit (PTC) of 1.5¢/kWh in 1993 dollars for each kW·h produced, for the first ten years; at 2.2 cents per kW·h in 2012, the credit was renewed on 2 January 2012, to include construction begun in 2013.[149] A 30% tax credit can be applied instead of receiving the PTC.[150][151] Another tax benefit is accelerated depreciation. Many American states also provide incentives, such as exemption from property tax, mandated purchases, and additional markets for "green credits".[152] The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 contains extensions of credits for wind, including microturbines. Countries such as Canada and Germany also provide incentives for wind turbine construction, such as tax credits or minimum purchase prices for wind generation, with assured grid access (sometimes referred to as feed-in tariffs). These feed-in tariffs are typically set well above average electricity prices.[153][154] In December 2013 U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander and other Republican senators argued that the "wind energy production tax credit should be allowed to expire at the end of 2013"[155] and it expired 1 January 2014 for new installations.
Secondary market forces also provide incentives for businesses to use wind-generated power, even if there is a
Articles lacking reliable references from October 2014
Articles with dead external links from May 2010
Articles with dead external links from October 2010
CS1 Dansk-language sources (da)
CS1 Deutsch-language sources (de)
Articles needing more detailed references
Pages using web citations with no URL
Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL
CS1 errors: chapter ignored
Pollution / quality
Fossil fuels (peak oil)
Types / location
common-pool
tragedy theory
Renewable / Non-renewable
Agriculture and Agronomy
Renewable energy by country
United Kingdom (Scotland)
Application of wind energy
Vehicle propulsion
Sailing ship
Power kite
SkySails
Ice boat
Rotor ship
Kite applications
Human-lifting kite
Air current
Windcatcher
Electricity delivery
Availability factor
Black start
Demand factor
Grid storage
Intermittency
Load following
Nameplate capacity
Peak demand
Power-flow study
Spark spread
Fossil-fuel power station
Micro CHP
Rankine cycle
Virtual power plant
Transmission and
Blackout (Rolling blackout)
Dynamic demand
Electric power distribution
Electrical grid
High-voltage direct current
Pumped hydro
Negawatts
Super grid
Transmission tower
Energy subsidies
Pigovian tax
Renewable energy payments
Renewable energy policy
Electricity economics
Power station technology
Wind power by country
Wind power industry
China (Hong Kong)
Portals: Energy
High-altitude
on public display
Crosswind kite
Windmade
Community-owned
Offshore farms
Onshore farms
Betz's law
Laddermill
Net energy gain
Wind profile power law
World Wind Energy Association (WWEA)
Tethys – an online knowledge management system that provides the offshore wind community with access to information and scientific literature on the environmental effects of offshore wind developments
Robert Gasch, Jochen Twele (ed.), Wind power plants. Fundamentals, design, construction and operation, Springer 2012 ISBN 978-3-642-22937-4.
Erich Hau, Wind turbines: fundamentals, technologies, application, economics Springer, 2013 ISBN 978-3-642-27150-2 (preview on Google Books)
Siegfried Heier, Grid integration of wind energy conversion systems Wiley 2006, ISBN 978-0-470-86899-7.
Peter Jamieson, Innovation in Wind Turbine Design. Wiley & Sons 2011, ISBN 978-0-470-69981-2
Alois Schaffarczyk (ed.), Understanding wind power technology, Wiley & Sons 2014, ISBN 978-1-118-64751-6.
Hermann-Josef Wagner, Jyotirmay Mathur, Introduction to wind energy systems. Basics, technology and operation. Springer 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-32975-3.
^ a b "GWEC, Global Wind Report Annual Market Update 2011" (PDF). Gwec.net. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ Fthenakis, V.; Kim, H. C. (2009). "Land use and electricity generation: A life-cycle analysis". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13 (6–7): 1465.
^ "Wind power is cheapest energy, EU analysis finds". the guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
^ David Richard Walwyn, Alan Coli Brent, Renewable energy gathers steam in South Africa. In: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 41, (2015), 390–401, doi:10.1016/j.rser.2014.08.049.
^ Robert Gasch, Jochen Twele (ed.): Windkraftanlagen. Grundlagen, Entwurf, Planung und Betrieb. Springer, Wiesbaden 2013, p 569 (German).
^ Gipe, Paul (1993). "The Wind Industry's Experience with Aesthetic Criticism". Leonardo 26 (3): 243–248.
^ a b Holttinen, Hannele; et al. (September 2006). "Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power" (PDF). IEA Wind Summary Paper, Global Wind Power Conference 18–21 September 2006, Adelaide, Australia.
^ a b Abbess, Jo (28 August 2009). "Wind Energy Variability and Intermittency in the UK". Claverton-energy.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011.
^ "Impact of Wind Power Generation in Ireland on the Operation of Conventional Plant and the Economic Implications". eirgrid.com. February 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
^ Nicola Armaroli, Vincenzo Balzani, Towards an electricity-powered world. In: Energy and Environmental Science 4, (2011), 3193–3222, p. 3217, doi:10.1039/c1ee01249e.
^ Platt, Reg (21 January 2013) Wind power delivers too much to ignore, New Scientist.
^ Platt, Reg; Fitch-Roy, Oscar and Gardner, Paul (August 2012) Beyond the Bluster why Wind Power is an Effective Technology. Institute for Public Policy Research.
^ a b Junling Huang and Michael B. McElroy (2014). "Meteorologically defined limits to reduction in the variability of outputs from a coupled wind farm system in the Central US" (PDF). Renewable Energy 62: 331–340.
^ a b Rasmussen, Jesper Nørskov. "Vindmøller slog rekord i 2014 " In English: New record for wind turbines in 2014. Energinet.dk, 6 January 2015. Accessed: 6 January 2015. Archived on 6 January 2015
^ http://online.wsj.com/articles/denmarks-wind-power-output-rises-to-record-in-first-half-1409750563
^ a b c d "GWEC Global Wind Statistics 2014" (PDF). GWEC. 10 February 2015.
^ a b The World Wind Energy Association (2014). 2014 Half-year Report. WWEA. pp. 1–8.
^ a b c d Price, Trevor J (3 May 2005). "James Blyth – Britain's First Modern Wind Power Engineer". Wind Engineering 29 (3): 191–200.
^ Shackleton, Jonathan. "World First for Scotland Gives Engineering Student a History Lesson". The Robert Gordon University. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
^ Anon. Mr. Brush's Windmill Dynamo, Scientific American, Vol. 63 No. 25, 20 December 1890, p. 54.
^ A Wind Energy Pioneer: Charles F. Brush, Danish Wind Industry Association. Accessed 2 May 2007.
^ History of Wind Energy in Cutler J. Cleveland,(ed) Encyclopedia of Energy Vol.6, Elsevier, ISBN 978-1-60119-433-6, 2007, pp. 421–422
^ Watts, Jonathan & Huang, Cecily. Winds Of Change Blow Through China As Spending On Renewable Energy Soars, The Guardian, 19 March 2012, revised on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
^ Xinhua: Jiuquan Wind Power Base Completes First Stage, Xinhua News Agency, 4 November 2010. Retrieved from ChinaDaily.com.cn website 3 January 2013.
^ Terra-Gen Press Release, 17 April 2012
^ Started in August 2001, the Jaisalmer based facility crossed 1,000 MW capacity to achieve this milestone
^ Mills, Erin (12 July 2009). "Shepherds Flat farm lifts off" (PDF).
^ E.ON Delivers 335-MW of Wind in Texas
^ a b Drilling Down: What Projects Made 2008 Such a Banner Year for Wind Power?
^ a b AWEA: U.S. Wind Energy Projects – Texas Archived 29 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ CEZ Group: The Largest Wind Farm in Europe Goes Into Trial Operation
^ AWEA: U.S. Wind Energy Projects – Indiana
^ Whitelee Windfarm
^ Ming Cheng, Ying Zhu, The state of the art of wind energy conversion systems and technologies: A review. In: Energy Conversion and Management 88, (2014), 332–347, doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2014.08.037
^ Demeo, E.A.; Grant, W.; Milligan, M.R.; Schuerger, M.J. (2005). "Wind plant integration". Power and Energy Magazine, IEEE 3 (6): 38–46.
^ Zavadil, R.; Miller, N.; Ellis, A.; Muljadi, E. (2005). "Making connections". Power and Energy Magazine, IEEE 3 (6): 26–37.
^ Hulazan, Ned (16 February 2011). "Offshore wind power – Advantages and disadvantages". Renewable Energy Articles. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
^ Millborrow, David (6 August 2010). "Cutting the cost of offshore wind energy". Wind Power Monthly. Haymarket.
^ a b Madsen & Krogsgaard (22 November 2010) Offshore Wind Power 2010 BTM Consult.
^ "1.1 Offshore wind market – 2012". Decarboni.se. European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). 1 July 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
^ a b "World's second largest offshore wind farm opens off coast of Wales". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
^ "London Array's own website announcement of commencement of offshore works" (PDF). Retrieved 6 July 2013.
^ Wittrup, Sanne. First foundation Ing.dk, 8 March 2011. Accessed: 8 March 2011.
^ "London Array Project home page". Londonarray.com. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
^ Greater Gabbard. "SSE wind farm Project Website". Sse.com. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
^ DONG Energy. "Facts on Anholt Offshore Wind Farm". dongenergy.com. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
^ BARD Offshore (1 August 2013). "Pioneering wind farm project BARD Offshore 1 successfully completed on the high seas". BARD Offshore. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
^ a b http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/business/27grid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
^ Power System Analysis and Design.Glover, Sarma, Overbye/ 5th Edition
^ http://www.pressherald.com/news/there-is-a-problem-withwind-power-in-maine_2013-08-04.html?pagenum=full
^ "International Energy Statistics". U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Retrieved 26 January 2015.
^ "Global Wind Report Annual Market Update 2013" (PDF). Global Wind Energy Council. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
^ "EU wind power capacity reaches 100GW". UPI. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^ "China's on-grid wind power capacity grows". China Daily. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^ "US Reaches 50 GW of Wind Energy Capacity in Q2 of 2012". Clean Technica. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^ Rick Tidball and others, "Cost and Performance Assumptions for Modeling Electricity Generation Technologies", US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, November 2010, p.63.
^ "Spain becomes the first European wind energy producer after overcoming Germany for the first time". Eolic Energy News. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "Worldwide Electricity Production From Renewable Energy Sources: Stats and Figures Series: Fifteenth Inventory – Edition 2013" (PDF). 2.2 Electricity Production From Wind Sources: Main Wind Power Producing Countries – 2012 (text & table): Observ'ER. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
^ "GWEC, Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010" (PDF). Gwec.net. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "Global wind capacity increases by 22% in 2010 – Asia leads growth". Global Wind Energy Council. 2 February 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
^ "Continuing boom in wind energy – 20 GW of new capacity in 2007". Gwec.net. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ a b "BTM Forecasts 340-GW of Wind Energy by 2013". Renewableenergyworld.com. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ a b BTM Consult (2009) International Wind Energy Development World Market Update 2009
^ http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/files/library/publications/statistics/EWEA_Annual_Statistics_2013.pdf
^ Wind Power: Capacity Factor, Intermittency, and what happens when the wind doesn't blow?. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
^ a b Shahan, Zachary (27 July 2012). "Wind Turbine Net Capacity Factor – 50% the New Normal?". Cleantechnica.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ Massachusetts Maritime Academy — Bourne, Mass This 660 kW wind turbine has a capacity factor of about 19%.
^ Wind Power in Ontario These wind farms have capacity factors of about 28–35%.
^ "Electricity production from solar and wind in Germany in 2012". Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2013.
^ (6 April 2011) Report Questions Wind Power's Ability to Deliver Electricity When Most Needed John Muir Trust and Stuart Young Consulting, Retrieved 26 March 2013
^ "Capacity factor of wind power realized values vs. estimates" (PDF). 10 April 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ WindpoweringAmerica.gov, 46. U.S. Department of Energy; Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy "20% Wind Energy by 2030"
^ "Transparent Cost Database". En.openei.org. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ US Energy Information Administration, Table 6.7B, Capacity factors, Electric Power Monthly, October 2014.
^ "2013 var rekordår for vindenergi i Danmark" (in Dansk). Retrieved 24 September 2014.
^ "Monthly Statistics – SEN". February 2012.
^ a b "the Spanish electricity system: preliminary report 2011" (PDF). January 2012. p. 13.
^ "Renewables". eirgrid.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
^ RenewableUK News website article
^ a b "A New Era for Wind Power in the United States" page XIV. United States Department of Energy, 2013. Retrieved: March 2015.
^ "Tackling Climate Change in the U.S." (PDF). American Solar Energy Society. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
^ The UK System Operator,
^ A study commissioned by the state of Minnesota considered penetration of up to 25%, and concluded that integration issues would be manageable and have incremental costs of less than one-half-cent ($0.0045) per kW·h. "Final Report – 2006 Minnesota Wind Integration Study" (PDF). The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. 30 November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
^ ESB National Grid, Ireland's electric utility, in a 2004 study that, concluded that to meet the renewable energy targets set by the EU in 2001 would "increase electricity generation costs by a modest 15%" "Impact of Wind Power Generation in Ireland on the Operation of Conventional Plant and the Economic Implications" (PDF). ESB National Grid. February 2004. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
^ Sinclair Merz Growth Scenarios for UK Renewables Generation and Implications for Future Developments and Operation of Electricity Networks BERR Publication URN 08/1021 June 2008
^ Andresen, Tino. "Molten Aluminum Lakes Offer Power Storage for German Wind Farms" Bloomberg, 27 October 2014.
^ Luoma, Jon R. (13 July 2001). "The Challenge for Green Energy: How to Store Excess Electricity". E360.yale.edu.
^ Buczynski, Beth (23 August 2012). "Power To Gas Technology Turns Excess Wind Energy Into Natural Gas". Revmodo.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012.
^ Wals, Matthew L. (4 November 2011) Taming Unruly Wind Power. New York Times.
^ a b Center for National Policy, Washington DC, 11 June 2012, "What States Can Do: The Clean Revolution"
^ "Claverton-Energy.com". Claverton-Energy.com. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ "Is wind power reliable?". Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ Milligan, Michael (October 2010) Operating Reserves and Wind Power Integration: An International Comparison. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, p. 11.
^ Bullis, Kevin. "Wind Turbines, Battery Included, Can Keep Power Supplies Stable" Technology Review, 7 May 2013. Accessed: 29 June 2013.
^ a b "Why wind power works for Denmark".
^ Realisable Scenarios for a Future Electricity Supply based 100% on Renewable Energies Gregor Czisch, University of Kassel, Germany and Gregor Giebel, Risø National Laboratory, Technical University of Denmark
^ "The power of multiples: Connecting wind farms can make a more reliable and cheaper power source". 21 November 2007.
^ Archer, C. L.; Jacobson, M. Z. (2007). "Supplying Baseload Power and Reducing Transmission Requirements by Interconnecting Wind Farms" (PDF). Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (
^ "Red Eléctrica de España | Wind produces more than 60% of the electricity consumed in Spain during the early hours of this morning". www.ree.es. Retrieved 2015-07-27.
^ Bentham Paulos (16 December 2013). "How Wind Met All of Denmark's Electricity Needs for 90 Hours". The Contributor. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
^ Wood, Shelby (21 January 2008) Wind + sun join forces at Washington power plant. The Oregonian.
^ "Small Wind Systems". Seco.cpa.state.tx.us. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ "Lake Erie Wind Resource Report, Cleveland Water Crib Monitoring Site, Two-Year Report Executive Summary" (PDF). Green Energy Ohio. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2008. This study measured up to four times as much average wind power during winter as in summer for the test site.
^ "The Combined Power Plant: the first stage in providing 100% power from renewable energy". SolarServer. January 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
^ "Wind Systems Integration Basics". Archived from the original on 7 June 2012.
^ Diesendorf, Mark (2007). "
^ "Variability of Wind Power and other Renewables: Management Options and Strategies" (PDF). IEA. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 December 2005.
^ Peterson, Kristen (5 November 2012). "The reliability of wind power". Minnesota Daily.
^ Mitchell 2006.
^ "Dinorwig Hydroelectric Plant, Wales". Thegreenage.co.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ The Future of Electrical Energy Storage: The economics and potential of new technologies 2 January 2009 ID RET2107622
^ "Geothermal Heat Pumps".
^ Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid's Limits Published: 26 August 2008
^ Birkenstock, Günther. Power Exports Peak, Despite Nuclear Phase-Out, Bonn, Germany: DW Welle website, 11 November 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
^ Altmann, M.; et al. (January 2012). "European Renewable Energy Network" (PDF). European Parliament. p. 71.
^ "Capacity Credit of Wind Power: Capacity credit is the measure for firm wind power". Wind Energy the Facts. EWEA.
^ "Capacity Credit Values of Wind Power". Wind-energy-the-facts.org. Archived from the original on 11 March 2009.
^ Energy return on investment (EROI) for wind energy
^ "Onshore wind to reach grid parity by 2016", BusinessGreen, 14 November 2011
^ Lantz, E.; Hand, M. and Wiser, R. (13–17 May 2012) "The Past and Future Cost of Wind Energy," National Renewable Energy Laboratory conference paper no. 6A20-54526, p. 4
^ Dolf Gielen. "Renewable Energy Technologies: Cost Analysis Series: Wind Power" International Renewable Energy Agency, June 2012. Accessed: 19 October 2013. Quote: "wind is capital intensive, but has no fuel costs"
^ Transmission and Wind Energy: Capturing the Prevailing Winds for the Benefit of Customers- NationalGrid
^ "Wind and Solar Power Systems — Design, analysis and Operation" (2nd ed., 2006), Mukund R. Patel, p. 303
^ Helming, Troy (2004) "Uncle Sam's New Year's Resolution" ArizonaEnergy.org
^ "LBNL/NREL Analysis Predicts Record Low LCOE for Wind Energy in 2012–2013". US Department of Energy Wind Program Newsletter. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
^ Salerno, E., AWEA Director of Industry and Data Analysis, as quoted in Shahan, Z. (2011) Cost of Wind Power – Kicks Coal's Butt, Better than Natural Gas (& Could Power Your EV for $0.70/gallon)" CleanTechnica.com
^ "BWEA report on onshore wind costs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 March 2012.
^ "International Energy Outlook".
^ Committee on Climate Change (May 2011) Costs of low-carbon generation technologies.
^ "The Merit-Order Effect: A Detailed Analyis of the Price Effect of Renewable Electricity Generation on Spot Market Prices in Germany". Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ a b "Renewable energy now cheaper than new fossil fuels in Australia". Bloomberg New Energy Finance (Sydney: Bloomberg Finance). 7 February 2013.
^ Terry Macalister. "Onshore windfarms cheapest form of UK electricity, report shows". the Guardian.
^ "Wind and solar boost cost-competitiveness versus fossil fuels". Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
^ "Solar & Wind Reach a Big Renewables Turning Point : BNEF". Bloomberg.com. 6 October 2015.
^ "Subsidies and costs of EU energy. Project number: DESNL14583" Pages: iv, vii, 36. EcoFys, 10 October 2014. Accessed: 20 October 2014. Size: 70 pages in 2MB.
^ Danielson, David (14 August 2012). "A Banner Year for the U.S. Wind Industry". Whitehouse Blog.
^ Diane Cardwell (20 March 2014). "Wind Industry's New Technologies Are Helping It Compete on Price". New York Times.
^ "Offshore Wind Accelerator". The Carbon Trust. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^ "Global wind expert says offshore wind will be one of the cheapest UK energy sources by 2025". The Carbon Trust. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^ Stiesdal, Henrik. "Den fremtidige pris på vindkraft" Ingeniøren, 13 September 2015. The future price of wind power
^ a b c American Wind Energy Association (2009) Annual Wind Industry Report, Year Ending 2008 p. 11
^ "Wind Plants of California's Altamont Pass". Archived from the original on 26 April 2009.
^ "Strengthening America's Energy Security with Offshore Wind" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy. February 2011.
^ "Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy in Fiscal Year 2010". Report. Energy Information Administration. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
^ Gerhardt, Tina (6 January 2013). "Wind Energy Gets a Boost Off Fiscal Cliff Deal".
^ "Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy". Ucsusa.org. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ "Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC)". Dsireusa.org.
^ "Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy". Dsireusa.org.
^ Gipe, Paul (27 November 2012). "Italian Small Wind Growing with Feed-in Tariffs". Renewableenergyworld.com.
^ "The Development of Wind Power Tariffs in China" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2013.
^ Alexander, Lamar (17 December 2013). "2013 TNT 243-20 Senators Say Wind Energy Credit Should Be Allowed To Expire".
^ The 2010 Green-e Verification Report Retrieved on 20 May 2009
^ "Small-scale wind energy". Carbontrust.co.uk. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
^ Dodge, Darrell M. "Part 2 – 20th Century Developments". Illustrated history of wind power development. TelosNet Web Development.
^ Chanban, Matt A.V.; Delaquérière, Alain. Turbines Popping Up on New York Roofs, Along With Questions of Efficiency, The New York Times website, 26 May 2014, and in print on 27 May 2014, p. A19 of the New York edition.
^ Home-made energy to prop up grid The Times 22 June 2008 Retrieved on 10 January 2013
^ Kart, Jeff (13 May 2009). "Wind, Solar-Powered Street Lights Only Need a Charge Once Every Four Days". Clean Technica. Clean Technica. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
^ "Smale scale wind energy". Carbontrust.com. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
^ Hamer, Mick (21 January 2006). "The Rooftop Power Revolution". New Scientist (Reed Business Information Ltd.) (2535). Retrieved 11 April 2012.
^ MacKen, K.J.P.; Green, T.C.; Belmans, R.J.M. (2002). "10th International Conference on Harmonics and Quality of Power. Proceedings (Cat. No.02EX630)" 2. p. 776.
^ Buller, Erin (11 July 2008). "Capturing the wind". Uinta County Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2008. "The animals don't care at all. We find cows and antelope napping in the shade of the turbines." – Mike Cadieux, site manager, Wyoming Wind Farm
^ "IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex II I: Technology – specific cost and performance parameters" (PDF). IPCC. 2014. p. 10. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
^ "IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex II Metrics and Methodology. pg 37 to 40,41" (PDF).
^ Begoña Guezuraga, Rudolf Zauner, Werner Pölz, Life cycle assessment of two different 2 MW class wind turbines, Renewable Energy 37 (2012) 37–44, p 37. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2011.05.008
^ a b "Why Australia needs wind power" (PDF). Retrieved 7 January 2012.
^ "Wind energy Frequently Asked Questions". British Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 21 April 2006.
^ Eilperin, Juliet; Steven Mufson (16 April 2009). "Renewable Energy's Environmental Paradox". The Washington Post. Retrieved 17 April 2009.
^ "Wind farms".
^ Lindsay, Richard (October 2004). "WIND FARMS AND BLANKET PEAT The Bog Slide of 16 October 2003 at Derrybrien, Co. Galway, Ireland" (PDF). The Derrybrien Development Cooperatve Ltd. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
^ http://www.gereports.com/post/92442325225/how-loud-is-a-wind-turbine
^ Wind Energy Comes of Age By Paul Gipe
^ Gohlke JM et al. Environmental Health Perspectives (2008). "Health, Economy, and Environment: Sustainable Energy Choices for a Nation". Environmental Health Perspectives 116 (6): A236–A237.
^ Hamilton, Tyler (15 December 2009). "Wind Gets Clean Bill of Health".
^ W. David Colby, Robert Dobie, Geoff Leventhall, David M. Lipscomb, Robert J. McCunney, Michael T. Seilo, Bo Søndergaard. "Wind Turbine Sound and Health Effects: An Expert Panel Review", Canadian Wind Energy Association, December 2009.
^ Thomas Kirchhoff (2014): Energiewende und Landschaftsästhetik. Versachlichung ästhetischer Bewertungen von Energieanlagen durch Bezugnahme auf drei intersubjektive Landschaftsideale, in: Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung 46 (1), 10–16.
^ "Estimating U.S. Government Subsidies to Energy Sources: 2002–2008" (PDF). Environmental Law Institute. September 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^ a b Pernick, Ron and Wilder, Clint (2007). The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity, p. 280.
^ "World Energy Outlook 2011 Factsheet How will global energy markets evolve to 2035?" (PDF). IEA. November 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 February 2012.
^ LaRussa, Cassandra (30 March 2010). "Solar, Wind Power Groups Becoming Prominent Washington Lobbying Forces After Years of Relative Obscurity". OpenSecrets.org.
^ Nuclear Industry Spent Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Over the Last Decade to Sell Public, Congress on New Reactors, New Investigation Finds, Union of Concerned Scientists, 1 February 2010. In turn, citing:
Pasternak, Judy. Nuclear Energy Lobby Working Hard To Win Support, American University School of Communication, Investigative Journalism Workshop, with McClatchy Newspapers, 24 January 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
^ Ward, Chip. (5 March 2010) Nuclear Power – Not A Green Option, Los Angeles Times.
^ Pasternak, Judy (24 January 2010) Nuclear Energy Lobby Working Hard To Win Support, McClatchy Newspapers co-published with the American University School of Communication, 24 January 2010.
^ Schultz, Stefan (23 March 2011). "Will Nuke Phase-Out Make Offshore Farms Attractive?". Der Spiegel.
^ a b c d "Wind Energy and the Environment". Renewable Energy House. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ a b c "A Summary of Opinion Surveys on Wind Power". Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ a b "Public attitudes to wind farms". Eon-uk.com. 28 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ a b "The Social Acceptance of Wind Energy". European Commission. Archived from the original on 28 March 2009.
^ "Community Power Empowers". Dsc.discovery.com. 26 May 2009. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ "Community Wind Farms". Archived from the original on 20 July 2008.
^ "Carbon footprint of electricity generation" (PDF). Postnote Number 268: UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. October 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
^ "Energy". Retrieved 31 October 2012.
^ Cohn, Laura; Vitzhum, Carlta; Ewing, Jack (11 July 2005). "Wind power has a head of steam". European Business.
^ a b "Grave developments for battle site". The Engineer.: 6. 13 June 2003.
^ Las eólicas preparan su inmersión, DiarioDeSevilla.es website, 4 June 2009 (Spanish)
^ Braunholtz, Simon (2003) Public Attitudes to Windfarms. Scottish Executive Social Research.
^ "Canadians favour energy sources that are better for the environment" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2009.
^ "Wind power developments are least likely to be opposed by Canadians – Nuclear power opposed by most" (PDF). Saint Consulting.
^ "Wind farms make good neighbours". Archived from the original on 15 February 2012.
^ "'Rise in Scots wind farm support'". 19 October 2010.
^ O'Keeffe, Aoife; Haggett, Claire (2012). "An investigation into the potential barriers facing the development of offshore wind energy in Scotland: Case study – Firth of Forth offshore wind farm" (PDF). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 16 (6): 3711.
^ "Community Power Empowers". Dsc.discovery.com. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ "Public attitudes to wind farms". Eon-uk.com. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ The Harris Poll#119 (13 October 2010). "Large Majorities in U.S. and Five Largest European Countries Favor More Wind Farms and Subsidies for Bio-fuels, but Opinion is Split on Nuclear Power". PRNewswire.
^ "Wind Farms in Cumbria". Retrieved 3 October 2008.
^ Arnold, James (20 September 2004). "Wind Turbulence over turbines in Cumbria". BBC News.
^ "Group Dedicates Opening of 200 MW Big Horn Wind Farm: Farm incorporates conservation efforts that protect wildlife habitat". Renewableenergyaccess.com. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ Fisher, Jeanette. "Wind Power: MidAmerican's Intrepid Wind Farm". Environmentpsychology.com.
^ "Stakeholder Engagement". Agl.com.au. 19 March 2008. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008.
^ "National Code for Wind Farms" (PDF). Environment.gov.au. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^ "New standard and big investment for wind energy" (PDF). Publish.csiro.au. 17 December 2007.
^ a b "Wind Energy Opposition and Action Groups". Wind-watch.org. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ The Australia Institute (October 2006) Wind Farms: The facts and the fallacies Discussion Paper No. 91, ISSN 1322-5421, p. 28.
^ "Wind farm to be built near a Northamptonshire heritage site", BBC News, 14 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
^ Hill, Chris (30 April 2012). "CPRE calls for action over 'proliferation' of wind turbines". EDP 24. Archant community Media Ltd.
^ "Whitelee Windfarm". Scottish Power Renewables.
^ Wind Turbines in Denmark (PDF). section 6.8, p. 22, Danish Energy Agency. November 2009.
^ Jones, Christopher R.; Richard Eiser, J. (2010). "Understanding 'local' opposition to wind development in the UK How big is a backyard?" (PDF). Energy Policy 38 (6): 3106.
^ Tilting at Windmills: Public Opinion Toward Wind Energy. Wind-works.org. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.
^ Yates, Ysabel (15 October 2012) Testing the Waters: Gaining Public Support for Offshore Wind. ecomagination.com
^ Glenn Cramer, Sheldon Town Councilman (30 October 2009). "Town Councilor regrets High Sheldon Wind Farm (Sheldon, NY)". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
^ Broadcast Wind, LLC. "Solutions for the Broadcasting and Wind Energy Industries". Retrieved 4 September 2015.
^ "IMPACT OF WIND FARMS ON RADIOCOMMUNICATION SERVICES". TSR (grupo Tratamiento de Señal y Radiocomunicaciones de la UPV/EHU). Retrieved 4 September 2015.
^ Gourlay, Simon (12 August 2008) Wind Farms Are Not Only Beautiful, They're Absolutely Necessary, The Guardian.
^ Aldred, Jessica (10 December 2007) Q&A: Wind Power, The Guardian.
^ "Windmills vs. NIMBYism". Toronto Star (Toronto). 20 October 2008.
^ Donoghue, Andrew (30 July 2009). """Wind industry should avoid branding opponents "Nimbys. Business Green. Business Green. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
^ "Efficiency and performance" (PDF). UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
^ Betz, A.; Randall, D. G. (trans.). Introduction to the Theory of Flow Machines, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1966.
^ Burton, Tony, et al., (ed). Wind Energy Handbook, John Wiley and Sons, 2001, ISBN 0471489972, p. 65.
^ "What factors affect the output of wind turbines?". Alternative-energy-news.info. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
^ Alan T. Zehnder and Zellman Warhaft (27 July 2011). "University Collaboration on Wind Energy" (PDF). Cornell University
^ a b "Harvesting the Wind: The Physics of Wind Turbines" (PDF). Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ "What is wind?". Renewable UK: Education and careers. Renewable UK. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
^ Junling Huang and Michael B. McElroy (2015). "A 32-year perspective on the origin of wind energy in a warming climate" (PDF). Renewable Energy 77: 482–492.
^ Seeing the Wind with the New Global Wind Atlas International Renewable Energy Agency, 21 October 2015.
^ Presentation
^ http://www.globalwindatlas.com/
^ Hurley, Brian. "How Much Wind Energy is there? – Brian Hurley – Wind Site Evaluation Ltd". Claverton Group. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
^ a b Ananthaswamy, Anil and Le Page, Michael (30 January 2012). "Power paradox: Clean Might Not Be Green Forever". New Scientist.
^ Jacobson, M. Z.; Archer, C. L. (2012). "Saturation wind power potential and its implications for wind energy". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109 (39): 15679.
^ Adams, A. S.; Keith, D. W. (2013). "Are global wind power resource estimates overstated?". Environmental Research Letters 8: 015021.
^ Savenkov, M 2009, "On the truncated weibull distribution and its usefulness in evaluating potential wind (or wave) energy sites", University Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol.1, no.1, pp. 21–25
^ "Wind Statistics and the Weibull Distribution". Wind-power-program.com. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
^ For example, a 1 MW turbine with a capacity factor of 35% will not produce 8,760 MW·h in a year (1 × 24 × 365), but only 1 × 0.35 × 24 × 365 = 3,066 MW·h, averaging to 0.35 MW.
^ California is an exception.
Airborne wind turbine
Cost of electricity by source
List of countries by electricity production from renewable sources
List of wind turbine manufacturers
Lists of offshore wind farms by country
Lists of wind farms by country
Outline of wind energy
REpower 5 MW wind turbine under construction at Nigg fabrication yard on the Cromarty Firth
The London Array under construction in 2009
Sunrise at the Fenton Wind Farm in Minnesota, United States.
Wind farm in Xinjiang, China
Scroby Sands wind farm from Great Yarmouth
A wind turbine blade on I-35 near Elm Mott, an increasingly common sight in Texas
Erection of an Enercon E70-4 in Germany.
Middelgrunden offshore wind park.
To assess prospective wind power sites a probability distribution function is often fit to the observed wind speed data.[246] Different locations will have different wind speed distributions. The Weibull model closely mirrors the actual distribution of hourly/ten-minute wind speeds at many locations. The Weibull factor is often close to 2 and therefore a Rayleigh distribution can be used as a less accurate, but simpler model.[247]
The strength of wind varies, and an average value for a given location does not alone indicate the amount of energy a wind turbine could produce there.
Cristina Archer and Mark Z. Jacobson presented a "bottom-up" estimate, which unlike Kleidon's are based on actual measurements of wind speeds, and found that there is 1700 TW of wind power at an altitude of 100 metres over land and sea. Of this, "between 72 and 170 TW could be extracted in a practical and cost-competitive manner".[243] They later estimated 80 TW.[244] However research at Harvard University estimates 1 Watt/m2 on average and 2–10 MW/km2 capacity for large scale wind farms, suggesting that these estimates of total global wind resources are too high by a factor of about 4.[245]
The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources.[242] Axel Kleidon of the Max Planck Institute in Germany, carried out a "top down" calculation on how much wind energy there is, starting with the incoming solar radiation that drives the winds by creating temperature differences in the atmosphere. He concluded that somewhere between 18 TW and 68 TW could be extracted.[243]
Wind is the movement of air across the surface of the Earth, affected by areas of high pressure and of low pressure.[237] The global wind kinetic energy averaged approximately 1.50 MJ/m2 over the period from 1979 to 2010, 1.31 MJ/m2 in the Northern Hemisphere with 1.70 MJ/m2 in the Southern Hemisphere. The atmosphere acts as a thermal engine, absorbing heat at higher temperatures, releasing heat at lower temperatures. The process is responsible for production of wind kinetic energy at a rate of 2.46 W/m2 sustaining thus the circulation of the atmosphere against frictional dissipation.[238] A global 1km2 map of wind resources is housed at http://irena.masdar.ac.ae/ , based on calculations by the Technical University of Denmark.[239][240][241]
Wind power in an open air stream is thus proportional to the third power of the wind speed; the available power increases eightfold when the wind speed doubles. Wind turbines for grid electricity therefore need to be especially efficient at greater wind speeds.
P = \frac{E}{t} = \frac{1}{2}A\rho v^3.[236]
Power is energy per unit time, so the wind power incident on A (e.g. equal to the rotor area of a wind turbine) is:
where ρ is the density of air; v is the wind speed; Avt is the volume of air passing through A (which is considered perpendicular to the direction of the wind); Avtρ is therefore the mass m passing through "A". Note that ½ ρv2 is the kinetic energy of the moving air per unit volume.
E = \frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{1}{2}(Avt\rho)v^2 = \frac{1}{2}At\rho v^3,[236]
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion, also called wind. Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary surface with area A during the time t is:
Distribution of wind speed (red) and energy (blue) for all of 2002 at the Lee Ranch facility in Colorado. The histogram shows measured data, while the curve is the Rayleigh model distribution for the same average wind speed.
Map of available wind power for the United States. Color codes indicate wind power density class. (click to see larger)
In addition to the aerodynamic design of the blades, the design of a complete wind power system must also address the design of the installation's rotor hub, nacelle, tower structure, generator, controls, and foundation.[235] Further design factors must also be considered when integrating wind turbines into electrical power grids.
The aerodynamics of a wind turbine are not straightforward. The air flow at the blades is not the same as the airflow far away from the turbine. The very nature of the way in which energy is extracted from the air also causes air to be deflected by the turbine. In addition the aerodynamics of a wind turbine at the rotor surface exhibit phenomena that are rarely seen in other aerodynamic fields. The shape and dimensions of the blades of the wind turbine are determined by the aerodynamic performance required to efficiently extract energy from the wind, and by the strength required to resist the forces on the blade.[234]
In 1919 the German physicist Albert Betz showed that for a hypothetical ideal wind-energy extraction machine, the fundamental laws of conservation of mass and energy allowed no more than 16/27 (59.3%) of the kinetic energy of the wind to be captured. This Betz limit can be approached in modern turbine designs, which may reach 70 to 80% of the theoretical Betz limit.[232][233]
Wind turbine design is the process of defining the form and specifications of a wind turbine to extract energy from the wind.[231] A wind turbine installation consists of the necessary systems needed to capture the wind's energy, point the turbine into the wind, convert mechanical rotation into electrical power, and other systems to start, stop, and control the turbine.
Wind turbines are devices that convert the wind's kinetic energy into electrical power. The result of over a millennium of windmill development and modern engineering, today's wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of horizontal axis and vertical axis types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as battery charging for auxiliary power. Slightly larger turbines can be used for making small contributions to a domestic power supply while selling unused power back to the utility supplier via the electrical grid. Arrays of large turbines, known as wind farms, have become an increasingly important source of renewable energy and are used in many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.
Typical components of a wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position
Typical wind turbine components : 1-Foundation, 2-Connection to the electric grid, 3-Tower, 4-Access ladder, 5-Wind orientation control (Yaw control), 6-Nacelle, 7-Generator, 8-Anemometer, 9-Electric or Mechanical Brake, 10-Gearbox, 11-Rotor blade, 12-Blade pitch control, 13-Rotor hub.
Main articles: Wind turbine and Wind turbine design. See also: Wind turbine aerodynamics.
Turbine design
This type of opposition is often described as NIMBYism,[229] but research carried out in 2009 found that there is little evidence to support the belief that residents only object to renewable power facilities such as wind turbines as a result of a "Not in my Back Yard" attitude.[230]
While aesthetic issues are subjective and some find wind farms pleasant and optimistic, or symbols of [215][227][228]
Despite this general support for the concept of wind power in the public at large, local opposition often exists and has delayed or aborted a number of projects.[221][222][223] For example, there are concerns that some installations can negatively affect TV and radio reception and Doppler weather radar, as well as produce excessive sound and vibration levels leading to a decrease in property values.[224] Potential broadcast-reception solutions include predictive interference modeling as a component of site selection.[225][226]
In Denmark, a loss-of-value scheme gives people the right to claim compensation for loss of value of their property if it is caused by proximity to a wind turbine. The loss must be at least 1% of the property's value.[220]
Some wind farms have become tourist attractions. The Whitelee Wind Farm Visitor Centre has an exhibition room, a learning hub, a café with a viewing deck and also a shop. It is run by the Glasgow Science Centre.[219]
A panoramic view of the United Kingdom's Whitelee Wind Farm with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground.
In the UK, both the National Trust and the Campaign to Protect Rural England have expressed concerns about the effects on the rural landscape caused by inappropriately sited wind turbines and wind farms.[217][218]
In America, wind projects are reported to boost local tax bases, helping to pay for schools, roads and hospitals. Wind projects also revitalize the economy of rural communities by providing steady income to farmers and other landowners.[145]
Many wind power companies work with local communities to reduce environmental and other concerns associated with particular wind farms.[210][211][212] In other cases there is [215] but, according to The Australia Institute, their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by climate change and the opinions of the broader community.[216]
Wind turbines such as these, in Cumbria, England, have been opposed for a number of reasons, including aesthetics, by some sectors of the population.[208][209]
Opinion on increase in number of wind farms, 2010 Harris Poll[207]
% % % % % %
Strongly oppose 3 6 6 2 2 4
Oppose more than favour 9 12 16 11 9 14
Favour more than oppose 37 44 44 38 37 42
Strongly favour 50 38 33 49 53 40
This 2010 Harris Poll reflects the strong support for wind power in Germany, other European countries, and the U.S.[188][189][206]
In other cases there is direct community ownership of wind farm projects. The hundreds of thousands of people who have become involved in Germany's small and medium-sized wind farms demonstrate such support there.[205]
A 2003 survey of residents living around Scotland's 10 existing wind farms found high levels of community acceptance and strong support for wind power, with much support from those who lived closest to the wind farms. The results of this survey support those of an earlier Scottish Executive survey 'Public attitudes to the Environment in Scotland 2002', which found that the Scottish public would prefer the majority of their electricity to come from renewables, and which rated wind power as the cleanest source of renewable energy.[202] A survey conducted in 2005 showed that 74% of people in Scotland agree that wind farms are necessary to meet current and future energy needs. When people were asked the same question in a Scottish renewables study conducted in 2010, 78% agreed. The increase is significant as there were twice as many wind farms in 2010 as there were in 2005. The 2010 survey also showed that 52% disagreed with the statement that wind farms are "ugly and a blot on the landscape". 59% agreed that wind farms were necessary and that how they looked was unimportant.[203] Scotland is planning to obtain 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.[204]
In a survey conducted by Angus Reid Strategies in October 2007, 89 per cent of respondents said that using renewable energy sources like wind or solar power was positive for Canada, because these sources were better for the environment. Only 4 per cent considered using renewable sources as negative since they can be unreliable and expensive.[200] According to a Saint Consulting survey in April 2007, wind power was the alternative energy source most likely to gain public support for future development in Canada, with only 16% opposed to this type of energy. By contrast, 3 out of 4 Canadians opposed nuclear power developments.[201]
Which should be increased in Scotland?[199]
In Spain, with some exceptions, there has been little opposition to the installation of inland wind parks. However, the projects to build offshore parks have been more controversial.[196] In particular, the proposal of building the biggest offshore wind power production facility in the world in southwestern Spain in the coast of Cádiz, on the spot of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar[197] has been met with strong opposition who fear for tourism and fisheries in the area,[198] and because the area is a war grave.[197]
Surveys of public attitudes across Europe and in many other countries show strong public support for wind power.[188][189][190] About 80% of EU citizens support wind power.[191] In Germany, where wind power has gained very high social acceptance, hundreds of thousands of people have invested in citizens' wind farms across the country and thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises are running successful businesses in a new sector that in 2008 employed 90,000 people and generated 8% of Germany's electricity.[192][193] Although wind power is a popular form of energy generation, the construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed, often for aesthetic reasons.[169][188][189][190][191][194][195]
Environmental group members are both more in favor of wind power (74%) as well as more opposed (24%). Few are undecided.
Following the 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents, Germany's federal government is working on a new plan for increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy commercialization, with a particular focus on offshore wind farms. Under the plan, large wind turbines will be erected far away from the coastlines, where the wind blows more consistently than it does on land, and where the enormous turbines won't bother the inhabitants. The plan aims to decrease Germany's dependence on energy derived from coal and nuclear power plants.[187]
In the U.S., the wind power industry has recently increased its lobbying efforts considerably, spending about $5 million in 2009 after years of relative obscurity in Washington.[183] By comparison, the U.S. nuclear industry alone spent over $650 million on its lobbying efforts and campaign contributions during a single ten-year period ending in 2008.[184][185][186]
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) (2011), energy subsidies artificially lower the price of energy paid by consumers, raise the price received by producers or lower the cost of production. "Fossil fuels subsidies costs generally outweigh the benefits. Subsidies to renewables and low-carbon energy technologies can bring long-term economic and environmental benefits".[182] In November 2011, an IEA report entitled Deploying Renewables 2011 said "subsidies in green energy technologies that were not yet competitive are justified in order to give an incentive to investing into technologies with clear environmental and energy security benefits". The IEA's report disagreed with claims that renewable energy technologies are only viable through costly subsidies and not able to produce energy reliably to meet demand.
Nuclear power and fossil fuels are subsidized by many governments, and wind power and other forms of renewable energy are also often subsidized. For example, a 2009 study by the Environmental Law Institute[180] assessed the size and structure of U.S. energy subsidies over the 2002–2008 period. The study estimated that subsidies to fossil-fuel based sources amounted to approximately $72 billion over this period and subsidies to renewable fuel sources totalled $29 billion. In the United States, the federal government has paid US$74 billion for energy subsidies to support R&D for nuclear power ($50 billion) and fossil fuels ($24 billion) from 1973 to 2003. During this same time frame, renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency received a total of US$26 billion. It has been suggested that a subsidy shift would help to level the playing field and support growing energy sectors, namely solar power, wind power, and biofuels.[181] History shows that no energy sector was developed without subsidies.[181]
Part of the Seto Hill Windfarm in Japan.
Aesthetic aspects of wind turbines and resulting changes of the visual landscape are significant.[179] Conflicts arise especially in scenic and heritage protected landscapes.
Wind turbines generate some noise. At a residential distance of 300 metres (980 ft) this may be around 45 dB, which is slightly louder than a refrigerator. At 1 mile (1.6 km) distance they become inaudible.[174][175] There are anecdotal reports of negative health effects from noise on people who live very close to wind turbines.[176] Peer-reviewed research has generally not supported these claims.[177][178]
There are reports of bird and bat mortality at wind turbines as there are around other artificial structures. The scale of the ecological impact may[171] or may not[172] be significant, depending on specific circumstances. Prevention and mitigation of wildlife fatalities, and protection of peat bogs,[173] affect the siting and operation of wind turbines.
While a wind farm may cover a large area of land, many land uses such as agriculture are compatible with it, as only small areas of turbine foundations and infrastructure are made unavailable for use.[169][170]
The environmental impact of wind power when compared to the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, is relatively minor. According to the IPCC, in assessments of the life-cycle global warming potential of energy sources, wind turbines have a median value of between 12 and 11 (gCO2eq/kWh) depending on whether off- or onshore turbines are being assessed.[166][167] Compared with other low carbon power sources, wind turbines have some of the lowest global warming potential per unit of electrical energy generated.[168]
Livestock grazing near a wind turbine.[165]
Distributed generation from renewable resources is increasing as a consequence of the increased awareness of climate change. The electronic interfaces required to connect renewable generation units with the utility system can include additional functions, such as the active filtering to enhance the power quality.[164]
A Carbon Trust study into the potential of small-scale wind energy in the UK, published in 2010, found that small wind turbines could provide up to 1.5 terawatt hours (TW·h) per year of electricity (0.4% of total UK electricity consumption), saving 0.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (Mt CO2) emission savings. This is based on the assumption that 10% of households would install turbines at costs competitive with grid electricity, around 12 pence (US 19 cents) a kW·h.[162] A report prepared for the UK's government-sponsored Energy Saving Trust in 2006, found that home power generators of various kinds could provide 30 to 40% of the country's electricity needs by 2050.[163]
Off-grid system users can either adapt to intermittent power or use batteries, photovoltaic or diesel systems to supplement the wind turbine. Equipment such as parking meters, traffic warning signs, street lighting, or wireless Internet gateways may be powered by a small wind turbine, possibly combined with a photovoltaic system, that charges a small battery replacing the need for a connection to the power grid.[161]
Grid-connected domestic wind turbines may use grid energy storage, thus replacing purchased electricity with locally produced power when available. The surplus power produced by domestic microgenerators can, in some jurisdictions, be fed into the network and sold to the utility company, producing a retail credit for the microgenerators' owners to offset their energy costs.[160]
Recent examples of small-scale wind power projects in an urban setting can be found in New York City, where, since 2009, a number of building projects have capped their roofs with Gorlov-type helical wind turbines. Although the energy they generate is small compared to the buildings' overall consumption, they help to reinforce the building's 'green' credentials in ways that "showing people your high-tech boiler" can not, with some of the projects also receiving the direct support of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.[159]
Small-scale wind power is the name given to wind generation systems with the capacity to produce up to 50 kW of electrical power.[157] Isolated communities, that may otherwise rely on diesel generators, may use wind turbines as an alternative. Individuals may purchase these systems to reduce or eliminate their dependence on grid electricity for economic reasons, or to reduce their carbon footprint. Wind turbines have been used for household electricity generation in conjunction with battery storage over many decades in remote areas.[158]
A small Quietrevolution QR5 Gorlov type vertical axis wind turbine on the roof of Colston Hall in Bristol, England. Measuring 3 m in diameter and 5 m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5 kW.
Small-scale wind power
Kinetic energy, Space, Force, Mass, Matter
Wind power, Solar power, Sustainable development, Biomass, Global warming
Berlin, Werner von Siemens, Bmw, Daimler AG, Deutsche Bank
Wind power in the United States
Wind power in Texas, Wind power, Wind power in California, Wind power in Iowa, Renewable energy
Canadian Hydro Developers
Wind power, Alberta, Canada, Revelstoke, British Columbia, Biomass
Renewable energy, Sustainable development, Wind power, Hydrogen, Nuclear power
Renewable energy/Renewable energy news/Archive
Renewable energy, Wind power, Wind power in the United States, Wind power in the United Kingdom, Solar power
Wind power in the European Union
Wind power, Germany, Energy, Renewable energy, Sustainable development