Wind power
hideWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 gigawatts (GW). Wind power produces about 1.5% of worldwide electricity use, and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 19% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 11% in Spain and Portugal, and 7% in Germany and the Republic of Ireland in 2008. As of May 2009, eighty countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network. Smaller turbines are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy as a power source is attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels, because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions; however, the construction of wind farms (as with other forms of power generation) is not universally welcomed due to their visual impact and other effects on the environment.
Wind power is non-dispatchable, meaning that for economic operation all of the available output must be taken when it is available, and other resources, such as hydropower, and standard load management techniques must be used to match supply with demand. The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand. Where wind is to be used for a moderate fraction of demand, additional costs for compensation of intermittency are considered to be modest.
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News tagged with wind energy
Nocturnal wind maximum mapped for first time
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 05, 2009 |
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On beautiful, sunny days with quiet weather conditions a strong wind develops in the evening at a height of about 200 metres.
Shifting the world to 100 percent clean, renewable energy as early as 2030 -- here are the numbers
Oct 19, 2009 |
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Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. Implementing that technology requires overcoming obstacles in planning and politics, but doing so ...
China could meet its entire future energy needs by wind alone, study says
Sep 10, 2009 |
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A team of environmental scientists from Harvard and Tsinghua University demonstrated the enormous potential for wind-generated electricity in China. Using extensive metrological data and incorporating the Chinese ...
Scientists discover surprise in Earth's upper atmosphere
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA atmospheric scientists have discovered a previously unknown basic mode of energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere. The research, federally funded by the National ...
Key issues for the future of wind energy
Sep 08, 2009 |
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The prestigious journal Energy Policy has recently reported two studies that highlight some key issues for the future of wind energy in Spain. A team of engineers from the University of Zaragoza believes it is ...
China aims to build 'Three Gorges of wind power'
Jun 25, 2009 |
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China is aiming to build a huge wind farm in the northwest by 2020 that will have energy capacity similar to the gigantic Three Gorges Dam, a senior official said Thursday.
Wind energy companies test waters for offshore projects
Jun 24, 2009 |
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The federal government on Tuesday issued its first exploratory leases for wind energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf, the first step of what could be a race to harness the powerful Atlantic winds not far from major ...
Study says businesses can create clean energy jobs
May 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The organizers of a global business summit on climate change say millions of new jobs would be created in the U.S. alone by relying almost entirely on renewable or low-carbon sources of electricity.
China triples wind power capacity goal: report
May 04, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
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China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world's fastest growing market for wind energy technology, state press said.
'Smart turbine blades' to improve wind power
May 01, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (12) |
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Researchers have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades, a step toward improving efficiency by adjusting for rapidly ...
Obama calls for new era of energy exploration
Apr 23, 2009 |
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(AP) -- President Barack Obama, standing Wednesday in the shell of a once-giant Maytag appliance factory that now houses a wind energy company, declared that a "new era of energy exploration in America" would ...
Implementing sustainable technology to monitor the integrity of the nation's bridges
Apr 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Today, humans perform visual inspections every two years of most of the nation's older bridges. But with a scarcity of inspectors and tens of thousands of bridges, that process can be long and laborious.
Study: Public trust doctrine could aid management of US oceans
Apr 09, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
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Since Congress lifted a moratorium on offshore drilling last year, federal lawmakers have grappled with the issue of how best to regulate U.S. ocean waters to allow oil, wave and wind energy development, while sustainably ...
New renewables to power 40 per cent of global electricity demand by 2050
Mar 11, 2009 |
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With adequate financial and political support, renewable energy technologies like wind and photovoltaics could supply 40 percent of the world's electricity by 2050, according to findings from the International Scientific ...
Energy simulation may explain turbulence mystery
Feb 26, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new 3D model linking magnetic fields to the transfer of energy in space might help solve a physics mystery first observed in the solar wind 15 years ago.
