Wind Energy

In recent years, wind power has been one of the fastest-growing sources of energy around the world, popular for its potential to offer clean, abundant electricity. Though our scientists may claim that they are inventing something new by using wind as a source of generating energy, the truth is that wind is being used for centuries for this purpose. An example of this is an article published in 1838, which clearly shows that even in those times; wind was considered an important source of energy. Here are a few quotes that were recorded in the past, which prove that wind was always important in generating energy. Turbines today are sleek and slender machines, a far cry from their wooden ancestors. Around the world, wind turbines of all sizes have become a familiar sight; ranging from home or farm-scale machines of 1 kilowatt, all the way up to arrays of large 7 megawatt machines for off-shore use.

The current global total in fossil fuel subsidies for 2011 was $523 billion. The result was an incentive equivalent to $110 per ton of carbon emitted. In comparison, global subsidies for renewable amounted to what seem like a paltry $88 billion in the same year. Renewable energy production and demand growth is gaining momentum in many ways across the world. There is a booming demand of wind power today and all wind energy equipment manufacturers are gearing up to meet the demand and take advantage of it. Wind power capacity growth in the next five years and by year 2014 end, Asia will lead the world in installed wind capacity .

Sites where there is strong, consistent wind are the most appropriate locations for wind farms. An excellent wind site is generally considered to provide average wind speeds greater than 8 meters per second at ground level. Wind farms are created when multiple wind turbines are placed in the same location for the purpose of generating large amounts of electric power. Due to rising energy prices and the resultant search for alternatives, there are now thousands of wind farms in many countries around the world.

Modern wind turbines are up to the task of producing serious amounts of electricity. A popular sized machine in the U.S. today is a state-of-the-art 2 MW turbine that stands as tall as a 30-story building and costs roughly $2 million to $5 million installed. With a good wind resource, this size turbine can produce 5 million kWh of electricity each year.

“Technological advancements and supportive policy measures have the ability to dramatically increase the future of wind energy development in our nation and our world.” Wind power has the ability to provide a greater source of distributed energy production, which means less risk and a stronger energy portfolio. America’s ingenuity and drive for independence are well suited to increased wind energy development in the future. Stay tuned to advancements at industry and policy levels as wind energy continues to grow.