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{{Short description|Electrical power generation from wind}} {{Short description|Electrical power generation from wind}}
{{redirect|wind energy|the academic journal|Wind Energy (journal)}} {{redirect|Wind energy|the academic journal|Wind Energy (journal)}}
{{for|other types of wind turbines used for direct mechanical power|windmill|windpump}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
] ], China]]
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{{sustainable energy}} {{sustainable energy}}
{{Latest pie chart of world power by source}}


'''Wind power''' or '''wind energy''' is the use of ] to provide ] through ]s to turn ]s for ]. Wind power is a popular, ], ] source that has a much smaller ] compared to burning ]s. '''Wind power''' is the use of ] energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by ], ]s and ]s, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation.
Today, wind power is generated almost completely with ]s, generally grouped into ] and connected to the ].


In 2022, wind supplied over 2,304 ] of electricity, which was 7.8% of world electricity.<ref name=ember2024/>
]s consist of many individual wind turbines, which are connected to the ] ]. Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power, competitive with, or in many places cheaper than, coal or gas plants. Onshore wind farms have a greater visual impact on the landscape than other power stations, as they need to be spread over more land<ref name="grantham"/><ref name="energyfootprint">Nathan F. Jones, Liba Pejchar, Joseph M. Kiesecker. "]". '']'', Volume 65, Issue 3, March 2015. pp.290–301</ref> and need to be built in rural areas, which can lead to "industrialization of the countryside"<ref name="Szarka">Szarka, Joseph. ''Wind Power in Europe: Politics, Business and Society''. Springer, 2007. p.176</ref> and ].<ref name="energyfootprint" /> Offshore wind is steadier and stronger than on land and ] have less visual impact, but construction and maintenance costs are significantly higher. Small onshore wind farms can feed some energy into the grid or provide power to isolated off-grid locations.
With about 100 ] added during 2021, mostly ] and the ], global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Wind Power – Analysis|url=https://www.iea.org/reports/wind-power|access-date=2021-11-23|website=IEA|language=en-GB|archive-date=23 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123010357/https://www.iea.org/reports/wind-power|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Wind energy generation vs. installed capacity|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-energy-consumption-vs-installed-wind-energy-capacity|access-date=2021-11-23|website=Our World in Data|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019062311/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-energy-consumption-vs-installed-wind-energy-capacity|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-25 |title=Global wind industry breezes into new record |url=https://www.energylivenews.com/2022/03/25/global-wind-industry-breezes-into-new-record/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=Energy Live News |language=en-US}}</ref> 32 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2023 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015.<ref name=ember2024>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-07 |title=Global Electricity Review 2024 |url=https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/global-electricity-review-2024/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Ember |language=en-US}}</ref> To help meet the ] goals to ], analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Expansion of wind and solar power too slow to stop climate change|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211014141949.htm|access-date=2021-11-24|website=ScienceDaily|language=en}}</ref>


Wind power is considered a ], ] source, and has a much smaller ] compared to burning ]s. Wind power is ], so it needs ] or other ] energy sources to attain a reliable supply of electricity. Land-based (onshore) wind farms have a greater visual impact on the landscape than most other power stations per energy produced.<ref name="grantham">{{cite web|url=http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/faqs/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-onshore-wind-energy|title=What are the pros and cons of onshore wind energy?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622123816/http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/faqs/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-onshore-wind-energy/ |date=2018-01-12|archive-date=22 June 2019|work=Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="energyfootprint">{{cite journal|first1=Nathan F.|last1=Jones|first2=Liba|last2=Pejchar|first3=Joseph M.|last3=Kiesecker|doi=10.1093/biosci/biu224|title=The Energy Footprint: How Oil, Natural Gas, and Wind Energy Affect Land for Biodiversity and the Flow of Ecosystem Services|journal=]|volume=65|issue=3|date=2015-01-22|access-date=2022-11-09|pages=290–301|url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/65/3/290/236920|doi-access=free|issn=0006-3568}}</ref> ] have less visual impact and have higher ]s, although they are generally more expensive.<ref name=":1" /> Offshore wind power currently has a share of about 10% of new installations.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 March 2020 |title=Global Wind Report 2019 |url=https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2019/ |access-date=28 March 2020 |publisher=Global Wind Energy Council}}</ref>
Wind power is an ], which cannot be ] on demand.<ref name="grantham"/> Locally, it gives ], which is consistent from year to year but varies greatly over shorter time scales. Therefore, it must be used with other power sources to give a reliable supply.
Power-management techniques such as having ] power sources (often ] or ]), excess capacity, geographically distributed turbines, exporting and importing power to neighboring areas, ], reducing demand when wind production is low, and ] occasional excess wind power, are used to overcome these problems. As the proportion of wind power in a region increases, more conventional power sources are needed to back it up, and the grid may need to be upgraded.<ref name="ieawind" /><ref name="abbess" /> ]ing permits the electric-power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur.


Wind power is one of the lowest-cost electricity sources per unit of energy produced.
In 2019, wind supplied 1430 TWh of electricity, which was 5.3% of worldwide electrical generation,<ref name=bpcom/> with the global installed wind power capacity reaching more than 651 GW, an increase of 10% over 2018.<ref name=gwecnet/>
In many locations, new ]s are cheaper than new ] or ].<ref name=":6" />


Regions in the higher northern and southern latitudes have the highest potential for wind power.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Wind Atlas |url=http://science.globalwindatlas.info/datasets.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224101415/http://science.globalwindatlas.info/datasets.html |archive-date=24 February 2020 |access-date=28 March 2020 |publisher=DTU Technical University of Denmark}}</ref> In most regions, wind power generation is higher in nighttime, and in winter when ] output is low. For this reason, combinations of wind and solar power are suitable in many countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nyenah |first1=Emmanuel |last2=Sterl |first2=Sebastian |last3=Thiery |first3=Wim |date=2022-05-01 |title=Pieces of a puzzle: solar-wind power synergies on seasonal and diurnal timescales tend to be excellent worldwide |journal=Environmental Research Communications |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=055011 |doi=10.1088/2515-7620/ac71fb |bibcode=2022ERCom...4e5011N |s2cid=249227821 |issn=2515-7620|doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Wind energy ==
] (DTU)}}</ref>]]

]

]: an onshore wind farm in ]]]


== Wind energy resources ==
] (DTU) | access-date=23 November 2021 | archive-date=18 January 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118095006/https://www.globalwindatlas.info/ | url-status=live }}</ref>]]
] ]
]
Wind is air movement in the Earth's atmosphere. In a unit of time, say 1 second, the volume of air that had passed an area <math>A</math> is <math>Av</math>. If the air density is <math>\rho</math> , the mass of this volume of air is <math>M=\rho Av</math>, and the power transfer, or energy transfer per second is <math>P =\tfrac {1}{2}M v^{2}= \tfrac {1}{2}\rho A v^{3}</math>. Wind power is thus ''proportional'' to the ''third power'' of the wind speed; the available power increases eightfold when the wind speed doubles. Change of wind speed by a factor of 2.1544 increases the wind power by one order of magnitude (multiply by 10).


The global wind kinetic energy averaged approximately 1.50 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> over the period from 1979 to 2010, 1.31 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> in the Northern Hemisphere with 1.70 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> 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 the production of wind kinetic energy at a rate of 2.46 W/m<sup>2</sup> thus sustaining the circulation of the atmosphere against friction.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/13919173/A%2032-year%20Perspective%20on%20the%20Origin%20of%20Wind%20Energy%20in%20a%20warming%20Climate.pdf?sequence=1|title=A 32-year perspective on the origin of wind energy in a warming climate|journal=Renewable Energy|volume=77|pages=482–92|year=2015|doi=10.1016/j.renene.2014.12.045|last1=Huang|first1=Junling|last2=McElroy|first2=Michael B|bibcode=2015REne...77..482H |s2cid=109273683 |access-date=6 February 2015|archive-date=6 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206044746/http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/13919173/A%2032-year%20Perspective%20on%20the%20Origin%20of%20Wind%20Energy%20in%20a%20warming%20Climate.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live}}</ref>
Wind energy is the ] of air in motion, also called ].
Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary surface with area ''A'' during the time ''t'' is:


Through ], it is possible to estimate wind power potential globally, ] or region, or for a specific site. The ] provided by the ] in partnership with the ] provides a global assessment of wind power potential.<ref name="global_wind_atlas" /><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925180559/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/11/28/mapping-the-worlds-wind-energy-potential |date=25 September 2018 }} '']'', 28 November 2017.</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925180408/http://www.vindenergi.dtu.dk/english/news/2017/11/new-global-wind-atlas-to-be-presented-at-windeurope-conference |date=25 September 2018 }} '']'', 21 November 2017.</ref>
:<math>E = \frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{1}{2}(Avt\rho)v^2 = \frac{1}{2}At\rho v^3,</math><ref name="physics">{{cite web | url=http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernesto/S2010/EP/Materials4Students/Valentine/Grogg.pdf | title=Harvesting the Wind: The Physics of Wind Turbines | access-date=10 May 2017 | archive-date=24 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150824064326/http://www.ewp.rpi.edu/hartford/~ernesto/S2010/EP/Materials4Students/Valentine/Grogg.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Unlike 'static' wind resource atlases which average estimates of wind speed and power density across multiple years, tools such as ] provide time-varying simulations of wind speed and power output from different wind turbine models at an hourly resolution.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Staffell |first1= Iain |last2= Pfenninger |first2= Stefan |title=Using bias-corrected reanalysis to simulate current and future wind power output|date=1 November 2016|journal= Energy |volume = 114 |pages = 1224–39 |doi = 10.1016/j.energy.2016.08.068|doi-access = free|bibcode= 2016Ene...114.1224S |hdl= 20.500.11850/120087 |hdl-access= free }}</ref> More detailed, site-specific assessments of wind resource potential can be obtained from specialist commercial providers, and many of the larger wind developers have in-house modeling capabilities.


The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/how-much-wind-energy-is-there-brian-hurley-wind-site-evaluation-ltd.html|title=How Much Wind Energy is there?|last=Hurley|first=Brian|publisher=Claverton Group|access-date=8 April 2012|archive-date=15 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515154047/http://www.claverton-energy.com/how-much-wind-energy-is-there-brian-hurley-wind-site-evaluation-ltd.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.
where ''ρ'' is the ]; ''v'' is the wind ]; ''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". ½ ''ρv''<sup>2</sup> is the kinetic energy of the moving air per unit volume.


To assess prospective wind power sites, a probability distribution function is often fit to the observed wind speed data.<ref>{{cite journal | url= http://www.savenkov.org/publications/Savenkov_on_the_truncated_weibull_distribution_2009.pdf |author=Savenkov, M |year=2009 |title=On the truncated weibull distribution and its usefulness in evaluating potential wind (or wave) energy sites |journal=University Journal of Engineering and Technology |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–25 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222120957/http://www.savenkov.org/publications/Savenkov_on_the_truncated_weibull_distribution_2009.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2015}}</ref> Different locations will have different wind speed distributions. The ] 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 ] can be used as a less accurate, but simpler model.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://xn--drmstrre-64ad.dk/wp-content/wind/miller/windpower%20web/en/tour/wres/weibull.htm | title=Describing Wind Variations: Weibull Distribution | publisher=Danish Wind Industry Association | access-date=8 July 2021 | archive-date=2 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802193222/http://xn--drmstrre-64ad.dk/wp-content/wind/miller/windpower%20web/en/tour/wres/weibull.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>
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:

:<math>P = \frac{E}{t} = \frac{1}{2}A\rho v^3.</math><ref name="physics" />

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 electric power, therefore, need to be especially efficient at greater wind speeds.

Wind is the movement of air across the surface of the Earth, affected by areas of high pressure and of low pressure.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bwea.com/edu/wind.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304181329/http://www.bwea.com/edu/wind.html|archive-date=4 March 2011 | title=What is wind? | year=2010 | website=Renewable UK: Education and careers | publisher=Renewable UK | access-date=9 April 2012}}</ref>
The global wind kinetic energy averaged approximately 1.50 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> over the period from 1979 to 2010, 1.31 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> in the Northern Hemisphere with 1.70 MJ/m<sup>2</sup> 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 the production of wind kinetic energy at a rate of 2.46 W/m<sup>2</sup> sustaining thus the circulation of the atmosphere against frictional dissipation.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/13919173/A%2032-year%20Perspective%20on%20the%20Origin%20of%20Wind%20Energy%20in%20a%20warming%20Climate.pdf?sequence=1|title=A 32-year perspective on the origin of wind energy in a warming climate|journal=Renewable Energy| volume=77 |pages=482–92 |year=2015 |doi=10.1016/j.renene.2014.12.045|last1=Huang|first1=Junling|last2=McElroy|first2=Michael B}}</ref>

Through ] it is possible to provide estimates of wind power potential globally, by country or region, or for a specific site. A global assessment of wind power potential is available via the ] provided by the ] in partnership with the ].<ref name="global_wind_atlas" /><ref> '']'', 28 November 2017.</ref><ref> '']'', 21 November 2017.</ref>
Unlike 'static' wind resource atlases which average estimates of wind speed and power density across multiple years, tools such as ] provide time-varying simulations of wind speed and power output from different wind turbine models at an hourly resolution.<ref>{{cite journal|last1= Staffell |first1= Iain |last2= Pfenninger |first2= Stefan |title=Using bias-corrected reanalysis to simulate current and future wind power output|date=1 November 2016|journal= Energy |volume = 114 |pages = 1224–39 |doi = 10.1016/j.energy.2016.08.068|doi-access = free}} {{open access}}</ref> More detailed, site-specific assessments of wind resource potential can be obtained from specialist commercial providers, and many of the larger wind developers will maintain in-house modeling capabilities.

The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/how-much-wind-energy-is-there-brian-hurley-wind-site-evaluation-ltd.html |title=How Much Wind Energy is there?|last=Hurley|first=Brian|publisher=Claverton Group|access-date=8 April 2012}}</ref>
Axel Kleidon of the ] 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.<ref name="nsc2012" />

Cristina Archer and ] 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 {{convert|100|m}} over land and sea. Of this, "between 72 and 170 TW could be extracted in a practical and cost-competitive manner".<ref name="nsc2012">{{cite web | url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328491.700-power-paradox-clean-might-not-be-green-forever.html?full=true&print=true | title=Power paradox: Clean Might Not Be Green Forever |author1=Ananthaswamy, Anil |author2=Le Page, Michael |name-list-style=amp | date=30 January 2012 | website=New Scientist}}</ref> They later estimated 80 TW.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Jacobson | first1 = M.Z. | last2 = Archer | first2 = C.L. | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1208993109 | title = Saturation wind power potential and its implications for wind energy | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume = 109 | issue = 39 | pages = 15679–84 | year = 2012 | bibcode = 2012PNAS..10915679J | pmid=23019353 | pmc=3465402| doi-access = free }}</ref> However, research at ] estimates 1 watt/m<sup>2</sup> on average and 2–10 MW/km<sup>2</sup> capacity for large-scale wind farms, suggesting that these estimates of total global wind resources are too high by a factor of about 4.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Adams | first1 = A.S. | last2 = Keith | first2 = D.W. | doi = 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015021 | title = Are global wind power resource estimates overstated? | journal = Environmental Research Letters | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | page = 015021 | year = 2013 | bibcode = 2013ERL.....8a5021A | url = https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/11130445/160.Adams.Keith.GlobalWindPowerEstimates.e.pdf?sequence=1| doi-access = free }}</ref>

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.

To assess prospective wind power sites a probability distribution function is often fit to the observed wind speed data.<ref>{{cite journal | url= http://www.savenkov.org/publications/Savenkov_on_the_truncated_weibull_distribution_2009.pdf |author=Savenkov, M |year=2009 |title=On the truncated weibull distribution and its usefulness in evaluating potential wind (or wave) energy sites |journal=University Journal of Engineering and Technology |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=21–25 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222120957/http://www.savenkov.org/publications/Savenkov_on_the_truncated_weibull_distribution_2009.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2015}}</ref> Different locations will have different wind speed distributions. The ] 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 ] can be used as a less accurate, but simpler model.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://xn--drmstrre-64ad.dk/wp-content/wind/miller/windpower%20web/en/tour/wres/weibull.htm | title=Describing Wind Variations: Weibull Distribution | publisher=Danish Wind Industry Association | access-date=8 July 2021}}</ref>


== Wind farms == == Wind farms ==
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! class="unsortable" | Refs ! class="unsortable" | Refs
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|} |}
] of installed capacity<ref name="GWEC_Market" />]]


A wind farm is a group of ]s in the same location used for the production of electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area. Wind turbines use around 0.3 hectares of land per MW,<ref>https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/45834.pdf</ref> but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. For example, ], the largest wind farm in the world, has several thousand turbines. A wind farm may also be located offshore. A wind farm is a group of ]s in the same location. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area. The land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. A wind farm may also be located offshore. Almost all large wind turbines have the same design&nbsp;— a horizontal axis wind turbine having an upwind rotor with 3 blades, attached to a ] on top of a tall tubular tower.


In a wind farm, individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage (often 34.5&nbsp;kV) power collection system<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ewh.ieee.org/r3/atlanta/ias/Wind%20Farm%20Electrical%20Systems.pdf|title=Wind Farm Electrical Systems|access-date=2020-07-11|archive-date=18 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318210221/https://ewh.ieee.org/r3/atlanta/ias/Wind%20Farm%20Electrical%20Systems.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and communications network. In general, a distance of 7D (7 times the rotor diameter of the wind turbine) is set between each turbine in a fully developed wind farm.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Meyers|first1=Johan|last2=Meneveau|first2=Charles|date=1 March 2012|title=Optimal turbine spacing in fully developed wind farm boundary layers|journal=Wind Energy|volume=15|issue=2|pages=305–17|doi=10.1002/we.469|bibcode=2012WiEn...15..305M|url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/331240}}</ref> At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a ] for connection to the high voltage ] system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.windpowerengineering.com/projects/making-modern-offshore-substation/|title=Making of the modern offshore substation|website=Windpower Engineering & Development|language=en-US|access-date=14 June 2019|archive-date=24 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094304/https://www.windpowerengineering.com/making-modern-offshore-substation/|url-status=live}}</ref>
Almost all large wind turbines have the same design&nbsp;— a horizontal axis wind turbine having an upwind rotor with 3 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&nbsp;kV) power collection system<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ewh.ieee.org/r3/atlanta/ias/Wind%20Farm%20Electrical%20Systems.pdf |title=Wind Farm Electrical Systems|access-date=2020-07-11}}</ref> and communications network. In general, a distance of 7D (7 times the rotor diameter of the wind turbine) is set between each turbine in a fully developed wind farm.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Meyers|first1=Johan|last2=Meneveau|first2=Charles|date=1 March 2012|title=Optimal turbine spacing in fully developed wind farm boundary layers|journal=Wind Energy|volume=15|issue=2|pages=305–17|doi=10.1002/we.469|bibcode=2012WiEn...15..305M|url=https://lirias.kuleuven.be/handle/123456789/331240}}</ref> At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a ] for connection to the high voltage ] system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.windpowerengineering.com/projects/making-modern-offshore-substation/|title=Making of the modern offshore substation|website=Windpower Engineering & Development|language=en-US|access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref>


=== Generator characteristics and stability === === Generator characteristics and stability ===
]s, which were often used for wind power projects in the 1980s and 1990s, require ] for ], so ]s used in wind-power collection systems include substantial ] banks for ]. Different types of wind turbine generators behave differently during transmission grid disturbances, so extensive modeling of the dynamic electromechanical characteristics of a new wind farm is required by transmission system operators to ensure predictable stable behavior during system faults (see ]). In particular, induction generators cannot support the system voltage during faults, unlike steam or hydro turbine-driven synchronous generators.


Induction generators aren't used in current turbines. Instead, most turbines use variable speed generators combined with either a 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 ]-capabilities.<ref name="huang">{{Cite book|last1=Falahi|first1=G.|last2=Huang|first2=A.|date=1 October 2014|title=Low voltage ride through control of modular multilevel converter based HVDC systems|journal=IECON 2014 – 40th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society|pages=4663–68|doi=10.1109/IECON.2014.7049205|isbn=978-1-4799-4032-5|s2cid=3598534}}</ref> Modern concepts use either ]s with partial-scale converters or squirrel-cage induction generators or synchronous generators (both permanently and electrically excited) with full-scale converters.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.enconman.2014.08.037|title=The state of the art of wind energy conversion systems and technologies: A review|journal=Energy Conversion and Management|volume=88|page=332|year=2014|last1=Cheng|first1=Ming|last2=Zhu|first2=Ying}}</ref> Most modern turbines use variable speed generators combined with either a 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 ]-capabilities.<ref name="huang">{{Cite book|last1=Falahi|first1=G.|last2=Huang|first2=A.|title=IECON 2014 – 40th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society |chapter=Low voltage ride through control of modular multilevel converter based HVDC systems |date=1 October 2014|pages=4663–68|doi=10.1109/IECON.2014.7049205|isbn=978-1-4799-4032-5|s2cid=3598534}}</ref> Modern turbines use either ]s with partial-scale converters or squirrel-cage induction generators or synchronous generators (both permanently and electrically excited) with full-scale converters.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.enconman.2014.08.037|title=The state of the art of wind energy conversion systems and technologies: A review|journal=Energy Conversion and Management|volume=88|page=332|year=2014|last1=Cheng|first1=Ming|last2=Zhu|first2=Ying|bibcode=2014ECM....88..332C }}</ref> ] is possible<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-03 |title=ScottishPower in 'pioneering world first' after wind farm black-out boost |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/scottishpower-in-pioneering-world-first-after-wind-farm-black-out-boost-3023563 |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=www.scotsman.com |language=en}}</ref> and is being further developed for places (such as ]) which generate most of their electricity from wind.<ref>{{Cite web |title=As the grid adds wind power, researchers have to reengineer recovery from power outages |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220531181931.htm |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=ScienceDaily |language=en}}</ref>


Transmission systems operators will supply a wind farm developer with a ] to specify the requirements for interconnection to the transmission grid. This will include the ], the constancy of ], and the dynamic behaviour of the wind farm turbines during a system fault.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Demeo | first1 = E.A. | last2 = Grant | first2 = W. | last3 = Milligan | first3 = M.R. | last4 = Schuerger | first4 = M.J. | year = 2005 | title = Wind plant integration | journal = IEEE Power and Energy Magazine| volume = 3 | issue = 6 | pages = 38–46 | doi = 10.1109/MPAE.2005.1524619| s2cid = 12610250 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Zavadil | first1 = R. | last2 = Miller | first2 = N. | last3 = Ellis | first3 = A. | last4 = Muljadi | first4 = E. | year = 2005 | title = Making connections | journal = IEEE Power and Energy Magazine| volume = 3 | issue = 6 | pages = 26–37 | doi = 10.1109/MPAE.2005.1524618| s2cid = 3037161 }}</ref> ]s will supply a wind farm developer with a ] to specify the requirements for interconnection to the transmission grid. This will include the ], the constancy of ], and the dynamic behaviour of the wind farm turbines during a system fault.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Demeo | first1 = E.A. | last2 = Grant | first2 = W. | last3 = Milligan | first3 = M.R. | last4 = Schuerger | first4 = M.J. | year = 2005 | title = Wind plant integration | journal = IEEE Power and Energy Magazine| volume = 3 | issue = 6 | pages = 38–46 | doi = 10.1109/MPAE.2005.1524619| s2cid = 12610250 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Zavadil | first1 = R. | last2 = Miller | first2 = N. | last3 = Ellis | first3 = A. | last4 = Muljadi | first4 = E. | year = 2005 | title = Making connections | journal = IEEE Power and Energy Magazine| volume = 3 | issue = 6 | pages = 26–37 | doi = 10.1109/MPAE.2005.1524618| s2cid = 3037161 }}</ref>


=== Offshore wind power === === Offshore wind power ===
{{multiple image |total_width=500
] (and first to be installed without the use of heavy-lift vessels), WindFloat, operating at rated capacity (2&nbsp; MW) approximately 5&nbsp; km offshore of ], Portugal]]
|image1=Agucadoura WindFloat Prototype.jpg | caption1= The world's second full-scale ] (and first to be installed without the use of heavy-lift vessels), WindFloat, operating at rated capacity (2&nbsp; MW) approximately 5&nbsp; km offshore of ], Portugal

|image2= 20210830 Windfarm power generation capacity - offshore capacity, and total needed.svg| caption2= Offshore windfarms, including floating windfarms, provide a small but growing fraction of total windfarm power generation. Such power generation capacity must grow substantially to help meet the ]'s ] by 2050 pathway to combat ].<ref name=Guardian_20210829>{{cite news |last1=Rosa-Aquino |first1=Paola |title=Floating wind turbines could open up vast ocean tracts for renewable power |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/29/floating-wind-turbines-ocean-renewable-power |work=The Guardian |date=29 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830162300/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/29/floating-wind-turbines-ocean-renewable-power |archive-date=30 August 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
{{Main|Offshore wind power|List of offshore wind farms}} {{Main|Offshore wind power|List of offshore wind farms}}


Offshore wind power refers to the construction of wind farms in large bodies of water to generate electric power. These installations can utilize the more frequent and powerful winds that are available in these locations and have a less aesthetic impact on the landscape than land-based projects. However, the construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renewables-info.com/drawbacks_and_benefits/offshore_wind_power_%E2%80%93_advantages_and_disadvantages.html|title=Offshore wind power&nbsp;– Advantages and disadvantages |last=Hulazan|first=Ned|date=16 February 2011|publisher=Renewable Energy Articles|access-date=9 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.windpowermonthly.com/go/europe/news/1021043/Cutting-cost-offshore-wind-energy/|title=Cutting the cost of offshore wind energy|last=Millborrow|first=David|date=6 August 2010|website=Wind Power Monthly|publisher=Haymarket}}</ref> Offshore wind power is wind farms in large bodies of water, usually the sea. These installations can use the more frequent and powerful winds that are available in these locations and have less visual impact on the landscape than land-based projects. However, the construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.renewables-info.com/drawbacks_and_benefits/offshore_wind_power_%E2%80%93_advantages_and_disadvantages.html|title=Offshore wind power&nbsp;– Advantages and disadvantages|last=Hulazan|first=Ned|date=16 February 2011|publisher=Renewable Energy Articles|access-date=9 April 2012|archive-date=13 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013053638/http://www.renewables-info.com/drawbacks_and_benefits/offshore_wind_power_%E2%80%93_advantages_and_disadvantages.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.windpowermonthly.com/go/europe/news/1021043/Cutting-cost-offshore-wind-energy/|title=Cutting the cost of offshore wind energy|last=Millborrow|first=David|date=6 August 2010|website=Wind Power Monthly|publisher=Haymarket|access-date=10 April 2012|archive-date=2 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202035902/http://www.windpowermonthly.com/go/europe/news/1021043/Cutting-cost-offshore-wind-energy/|url-status=live}}</ref>


As of November 2021, the ] in the ] is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 1,218 ].<ref name="hornsea">{{Cite web|date=2020-01-30|title=World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm Fully Up and Running|url=https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/01/30/worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-fully-up-and-running/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131051635/https://www.offshorewind.biz/2020/01/30/worlds-largest-offshore-wind-farm-fully-up-and-running/|archive-date=31 January 2020|access-date=2020-02-03|website=Offshore Wind|language=en-US}}</ref>
] and ] are the leading turbine suppliers for offshore wind power. ], ], and ] are the leading offshore operators.<ref name="btm2010o" /> As of October 2010, 3.16 GW of offshore wind power capacity was operational, mainly in Northern Europe. Offshore wind power capacity is expected to reach a total of 75 GW worldwide by 2020, with significant contributions from ] and the US.<ref name="btm2010o" /> The UK's investments in offshore wind power have resulted in a rapid decrease of the usage of coal as an energy source between 2012 and 2017, as well as a drop in the usage of natural gas as an energy source in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://theconversation.com/winds-of-change-britain-now-generates-twice-as-much-electricity-from-wind-as-coal-89598|title=Winds of change: Britain now generates twice as much electricity from wind as coal|last=Wilson|first=Grant|work=The Conversation|access-date=17 January 2018|language=en}}</ref>

In 2012, 1,662 turbines at 55 offshore wind farms in 10 European countries produced 18 TWh, enough to power almost five million households.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hub.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/deep-water-next-step-offshore-wind-energy/11-offshore-wind-market-2012|title=1.1 Offshore wind market – 2012|website=globalccsinstitute.com|publisher=European Wind Energy Association (EWEA)|date=1 July 2013 |access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref> As of September 2018, the ] in the ] is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 659 ].<ref name="walney" />
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ '''World's largest offshore wind farms'''
|-
! width="130" | ]
! ] <br /> (MW)
! Country !! ] and model
! Commissioned
! class="unsortable" | Refs
|-
| Walney Extension || align="center" | 659 || {{flag|United Kingdom}} || 47 x Vestas 8MW<br /> 40 x Siemens Gamesa 7MW || align="center" | 2018 ||<ref name="walney">{{cite web|url=https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2018/09/8.htm |title=World's largest offshore wind farm officially opens |access-date=11 September 2018}}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 630 || {{flag|United Kingdom}} || 175 × ] SWT-3.6 || align="center" | 2012 ||<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.londonarray.com/wp-content/uploads/First-foundation-installed-at-London-Array.pdf |title=London Array's own website announcement of commencement of offshore works |access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref><ref>Wittrup, Sanne. ''Ing.dk'', 8 March 2011. Accessed: 8 March 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.londonarray.com/the-project/ |title=London Array Project |publisher=Londonarray.com |date=22 February 1999 |access-date=6 July 2013 |archive-date=21 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221155316/http://www.londonarray.com/the-project/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 600 || {{flag|The Netherlands}} || 150 × ] SWT-4.0 || align="center" | 2017 ||<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/09/full-tilt-giant-offshore-wind-farm-opens-in-north-sea |title=Full tilt: giant offshore wind farm opens in North Sea |work=theguardian.com |date=9 May 2017 |access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 576 || {{flag|United Kingdom}} || 160 × ] SWT-3.6 107 || align="center" | 2015 || <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/worlds-second-largest-offshore-wind-9476670 |title=World's second largest offshore wind farm opens off coast of Wales |website=Wales Online |access-date=18 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619014734/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business/business-news/worlds-second-largest-offshore-wind-9476670 |archive-date=19 June 2015 |date=17 June 2015}}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 504 || {{flag|United Kingdom}} || 140 × ] SWT-3.6 || align="center" | 2012 || <ref>{{cite web|author=Greater Gabbard |url=http://www.sse.com/GreaterGabbard/ProjectInformation/ |title=SSE wind farm Project Website |publisher=Sse.com |access-date=6 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814100755/http://www.sse.com/GreaterGabbard/ProjectInformation/ |archive-date=14 August 2011}}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 400 || {{flag|Denmark}} || 111 × ] SWT-3.6–120 || align="center" | 2013 || <ref>{{cite web |author=DONG Energy |url=http://www.dongenergy.com/anholt/en/projektet1/constructionofthewindfarm/pages/factsonanholtoffshorewindfarm.aspx |title=Facts on Anholt Offshore Wind Farm |publisher=dongenergy.com |access-date=2 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106001145/http://www.dongenergy.com/anholt/en/projektet1/constructionofthewindfarm/pages/factsonanholtoffshorewindfarm.aspx |archive-date=6 November 2013}}</ref>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 400 || {{flag|Germany}} || 80 BARD 5.0 turbines || align="center" | 2013 || <ref>{{cite web|author=BARD Offshore |url=http://www.bard-offshore.de/en/media/press-releases/details/article/pionier-windparkprojekt-bard-offshore-1-auf-hoher-see-erfolgreich-errichtet.html |title=Pioneering wind farm project BARD Offshore 1 successfully completed on the high seas |publisher=BARD Offshore |date=1 August 2013 |access-date=21 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821141033/http://www.bard-offshore.de/en/media/press-releases/details/article/pionier-windparkprojekt-bard-offshore-1-auf-hoher-see-erfolgreich-errichtet.html |archive-date=21 August 2014}}</ref>
|}


=== Collection and transmission network === === Collection and transmission network ===
Near offshore wind farms may be connected by AC and far offshore by HVDC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Action |first=BMWK-Federal Ministry for Economics Affairs and Climate |title=Connecting offshore wind energy to the grid |url=https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/EN/Artikel/Energy/connecting-offshore-wind-energy-to-the-grid.html |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=www.bmwk.de |language=en}}</ref>
]]]
In a ], 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 ] system.


Wind power resources are not always located near to high population density. 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 to transport large loads over large distances.<ref>Power System Analysis and Design. Glover, Sarma, Overbye/ 5th Edition</ref>
A transmission line is required to bring the generated power to (often remote) markets. For an offshore station, 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 already installed for conventional fuel generation.


When the transmission capacity does not meet the generation capacity, wind farms are forced to produce below their full potential or stop running altogether, in a process known as ]. While this leads to potential renewable generation left untapped, it prevents possible grid overload or risk to reliable service.<ref name=maine> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094412/https://www.pressherald.com/2013/08/04/there-is-a-problem-withwind-power-in-maine_2013-08-04/ |date=24 November 2021 }}. Pressherald.com (4 August 2013). Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref>
Wind power resources are not always located near to high population density. 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 to transport large loads over large distances.<ref>Power System Analysis and Design. Glover, Sarma, Overbye/ 5th Edition</ref>


One of the biggest current challenges to wind power grid integration in some countries is the necessity of developing new transmission lines to carry power from wind farms, usually in remote lowly populated areas due to availability of wind, to high load locations, usually on the coasts where population density is higher.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-04-07|title=From West to East: The Charged Challenge of Delivering Electricity|url=https://www.chinabusinessreview.com/from-west-to-east-the-charged-challenge-of-delivering-electricity/|access-date=2021-11-24|website=China Business Review|language=en-US}}</ref> Any existing transmission lines in remote locations may not have been designed for the transport of large amounts of energy.<ref name="nytimes.com">Wald, Matthew (26 August 2008) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701110101/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/business/27grid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |date=1 July 2017 }}. ''New York Times''</ref> In particular geographic regions, peak wind speeds may not coincide with peak demand for electrical power, whether offshore or onshore. A possible future option may be to interconnect widely dispersed geographic areas with an HVDC ].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barnard|first=Michael|date=2021-11-11|title=Breaking News: China & USA Joint Declaration On Climate Action Collaboration|url=https://cleantechnica.com/2021/11/11/breaking-news-china-and-usa-joint-declaration-on-climate-action-collaboration/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=CleanTechnica|language=en-US|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112143817/https://cleantechnica.com/2021/11/11/breaking-news-china-and-usa-joint-declaration-on-climate-action-collaboration/|url-status=live}}</ref>
When the transmission capacity does not meet the generation capacity, wind farms are forced to produce below their full potential or stop running altogether, in a process known as ]. While this leads to potential renewable generation left untapped, it prevents possible grid overload or risk to reliable service.<ref name=maine>. Pressherald.com (4 August 2013). Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref>

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.<ref name="nytimes.com">Wald, Matthew (26 August 2008) . ''New York Times''</ref> 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 electric power 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.<ref name="nytimes.com" /> 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.<ref name=maine/>


== Wind power capacity and production == == Wind power capacity and production ==
{{Main|Wind power by country}} {{Main|Wind power by country|Wind power industry}}


=== Growth trends === === Growth trends ===
{{multiple image | align=center |total_width=675
{{updatesection|date=August 2020}}
| image1= 2010- Power capacity by technology - Dec 2022 International Energy Agency.svg |caption1= Renewable energy sources, especially ] and wind power, are providing an increasing share of power capacity.<ref name="IEA_20221205">{{cite web |title=Share of cumulative power capacity by technology, 2010–2027 |url=https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-cumulative-power-capacity-by-technology-2010-2027 |website=IEA.org |publisher=International Energy Agency (IEA) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204170647/https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-cumulative-power-capacity-by-technology-2010-2027 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |date=5 December 2022 |url-status=live}} Source states "Fossil fuel capacity from IEA (2022), ''World Energy Outlook 2022''. IEA. Licence: CC BY 4.0."</ref>

| image2= Wind energy generation by region, OWID.svg |caption2=Wind energy generation by region<ref>{{cite web |title=Wind energy generation by region |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-energy-consumption-by-region |website=Our World in Data |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310222609/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/wind-energy-consumption-by-region |url-status=live }}</ref>
| image3= Wind generation by country.svg |caption3=Wind generation by country
}}
{{clear}}
{{Image frame {{Image frame
| caption=Log graph of global wind power cumulative capacity (Data:GWEC)<ref name="GWEC_Market">{{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Global-Cumulative-Installed-Wind-Capacity-2001-2016.jpg |title=GWEC, Global Wind Report Annual Market Update |publisher=Gwec.net |access-date=20 May 2017 |archive-date=12 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812135710/https://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Global-Cumulative-Installed-Wind-Capacity-2001-2016.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref>
| caption=Log graph of global wind power cumulative capacity (Data:GWEC)
| content = {{Graph:Chart | content = {{Graph:Chart
|type=line |type=line
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|height=200<!--height = 80 X <no. of log10 cycles in y axis>--> |height=200<!--height = 80 X <no. of log10 cycles in y axis>-->
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|yAxisMin = 5<!--Needed to avoid trying to show the values y2, y3 of 0, impossible on log scale because log(0)=-infinity--> |yAxisMin = 5<!--Needed to avoid trying to show the values y2, y3 of 0, impossible on log scale because log(0)=-infinity-->
|yGrid= |xGrid= |yGrid= |xGrid=
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}}<ref name="GWEC_Market">{{cite web|url=http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Global-Cumulative-Installed-Wind-Capacity-2001-2016.jpg |title=GWEC, Global Wind Report Annual Market Update |publisher=Gwec.net |access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref>
}} }}


<!-- START OF GW SCALE COUNTRIES CHART -->
In 2019, wind supplied 1430 TWh of electricity, which was 5.3% of worldwide electrical generation,<ref name="bpcom">{{cite web |title=bp Statistical Review of World Energy 2020 |url=https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2020-full-report.pdf |publisher=BP p.l.c. |access-date=23 October 2020 |pages=55, 59}}</ref> with the global installed wind power capacity reaching more than 651 GW, an increase of 10% over 2018.<ref name="gwecnet">{{cite web|url=https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2019/ |title=Global Wind Report 2019|date=25 March 2020|publisher=Global Wind Energy Council|access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref>
{| style="float:right"
Wind power supplied 15% of the electricity consumed in Europe in 2019. In 2015 there were over 200,000 wind turbines operating, with a total ] of 432 ] worldwide.<ref name="The Globe and Mail">{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/china-now-the-world-leader-in-wind-power-production/article28713509/ |title=China now the world leader in wind power production |newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=11 February 2016|access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref>
The ] passed 100 GW nameplate capacity in September 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/10/01/EU-wind-power-capacity-reaches-100GW/UPI-52431349087400/ |title=EU wind power capacity reaches 100GW |date=1 October 2012 |publisher=UPI |access-date=31 October 2012}}</ref> while the United States surpassed 75 GW in 2015 and ]'s grid-connected capacity passed 145 GW in 2015.<ref name="The Globe and Mail" />
In 2015 wind power constituted 15.6% of all installed power generation capacity in the European Union and it generated around 11.4% of its power.<ref name="EWEA2015">. EWEA.</ref>

World wind generation capacity more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006, doubling about every 3 years.
] and led the world in installed capacity in the 1980s and into the 1990s.
In 1997 installed capacity in Germany surpassed the United States and led until once again overtaken by the United States in 2008.
China has been rapidly expanding its wind installations in the late 2000s and passed the United States in 2010 to become the world leader.
As of 2011, 83 countries around the world were using wind power on a commercial basis.<ref name="ren212011" />

The actual amount of electric power that wind can generate is calculated by multiplying the ] by the ], which varies according to equipment and location.
Estimates of the capacity factors for wind installations are in the range of 35% to 44%.<ref>Rick Tidball and others, , US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, November 2010, p.63.</ref>

{| style="margin: 1px auto;top:right"
|- |-
|<!-- pie chart: Top 10 countries by added wind capacity in 2019 -->
{{Image frame
|width = 260
|align = center
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{{#invoke:Chart
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<!-- for colour scheme consistency, see ] for reference-->
( 26,155 : China : #de2821 : ] )
( 9,143 : United States : #1f77c4 : ] )
( 2,393 : United Kingdom : #001b69 : ] )
( 2,377 : India : #66ccff : ] )
( 2,189 : Germany: #f0e68c : ] )
( 1,634 : Spain : #ffc500 : ] )
( 1,588 : Sweden : #1e90f0 : ])
( 1,336 : France : #ffc0cb : ] )
( 1,281 : Mexico : #006845 : ] )
( 931 : Argentina : #808080 : ] )
( 11,324 : Rest of the world : #c0c0c0 : ] )
|units suffix = _MW
|percent = true
}}</div>
|caption='''Top 10 countries by added wind capacity in 2019'''<ref name="GWEC-2018-pp25,28">{{cite web |url=https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2019/ |title=GWEC Global Wind Report 2019 |date=25 March 2020 |publisher=]|pages=25, 28|access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2019/ |title=Global Wind Report 2019 |date=25 March 2020 |publisher=]|page=10|access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref>
}}

|<!-- pie chart: Top 10 countries by cumulative wind capacity in 2019 -->
{{Image frame
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|align = center
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|content =<div style="background:#f9f9f9; font-size:0.85em; text-align:left; padding:8px 0; margin:0;">
<!-- for colour scheme consistency, see ] for reference-->
{{#invoke:Chart
|pie chart
|radius = 126
|slices =
( 236,402 : China: #de2821 : ] )
( 105,466 : United States : #1f77c4 : ] )
( 61,406 : Germany: #f0e68c : ] )
( 37,506 : India : #66ccff : ] )
( 25,224 : Spain : #ffc500 : ] )
( 23,340 : United Kingdom : #001b69 : ] )
( 16,643 : France : #ffc0cb : ] )
( 15,452 : Brazil : #009c37 : ] )
( 13,413 : Canada : #808080 : ] )
( 10,330 : Italy : #9eec22 : ] )
( 105,375 : Rest of the world : #c0c0c0 : ] )
|units suffix = _MW
|percent = true
}}</div>
|caption='''Top 10 countries by cumulative wind capacity in 2019'''<ref name="GWEC-2018-pp25,28" />
}}

| |
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<div style="margin:0 5px -40px -70px; font-size:0.85em;"> <div style="margin:0 5px -40px -70px; font-size:0.85em;">
<div style="color: #000; font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 0 12px 90px;">Number of countries with wind capacities in the gigawatt-scale</div> <div style="font-size: 120%; font-weight: bold; padding: 10px 0 12px 90px;">Number of countries with wind capacities in the gigawatt-scale by year</div>
{{ #invoke:Chart | bar-chart {{ #invoke:Chart | bar-chart
| width = 280 | width = 280
| height = 280 | height = 280
| stack = 1 | stack = 1
| group 1 = 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 2 | group 1 = 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 0 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 : 2 : 2 : 2 : 2
| group 2 = 1 : 1 : 3 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 5 : 5 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 7 : 8 : 8 : 9 : 8 | group 2 = 1 : 1 : 3 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 5 : 5 : 5 : 6 : 5 : 7 : 8 : 8 : 9 : 8 : 8 : 10 : 11
| group 3 = 6 : 10 : 10 : 10 : 12 : 12 : 15 : 17 : 20 : 19 : 19 : 19 : 20 : 21 : 22 : 22 | group 3 = 6 : 10 : 10 : 10 : 12 : 12 : 15 : 17 : 19 : 18 : 18 : 18 : 20 : 21 : 22 : 25 : 25 : 26 : 27
| colors = #990000 : #FFaa77 : #FFccaa | colors = #990000 : #FFaa77 : #FFccaa
| group names = installed more than 100 GW : installed between 10 and 100 GW : installed between 1 and 10 GW | group names = installed more than 100 GW : installed between 10 and 100 GW : installed between 1 and 10 GW
| units suffix = _countries | units suffix = _countries
| hide group legends = 1 | hide group legends = 1
| x legends = : 2005 : : : : : 2010: : : : : 2015 : : : : 2019 | x legends = : 2005 : : : : : 2010: : : : : 2015 : : : : : 2020 : :
}}</div> }}</div>
|caption =Growing number of wind gigawatt-markets |caption =Growing number of wind gigawatt-markets
{{Collapsible list {{Collapsible list
| title = {{legend2|#FFccaa|border=1px solid #ccccaa|Countries above the 1-GW mark}} | title = {{legend2|#FFccaa|border=1px solid #ccccaa|Above 1-GW mark}}
|{{aligned table | cols=5 |{{aligned table | cols=5
| style=width: 50%; text-align: left; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 22px; | style=width: 50%; text-align: left; font-size: 100%; margin-left: 22px;
| 2022
| {{flagicon|CRO}}
| {{flagicon|KAZ}}
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| 2021
| {{flagicon|RUS}}
| {{flagicon|TAI}}
| {{flagicon|VIE}}
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| 2019
| {{flagicon|ARG}}
| {{flagicon|THA}}
| {{flagicon|UKR}}
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| 2018 | 2018
| {{flagicon|PAK}} | {{flagicon|PAK}}
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{{Collapsible list {{Collapsible list
| title = {{legend2|#FFaa77|border=1px solid #ccaa77|Countries above the 10-GW mark}} | title = {{legend2|#FFaa77|border=1px solid #ccaa77|Above 10-GW mark}}
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| 2022
| {{flagicon|AUS}}<!-- https://en.wikipedia.org/Wind_power_by_country -->
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| 2021
| {{flagicon|SWE}}<!-- https://en.wikipedia.org/Wind_power_by_country -->
| {{flagicon|TUR}}<!-- https://windeurope.org/newsroom/news/turkey-reaches-10-gw-wind-energy-milestone/ -->
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| 2018 | 2018
| {{flagicon|ITA}}<!-- https://www.qualenergia.it/articoli/quanti-impianti-eolici-ci-sono-in-italia/ --> | {{flagicon|ITA}}<!-- https://www.qualenergia.it/articoli/quanti-impianti-eolici-ci-sono-in-italia/ -->
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{{Collapsible list {{Collapsible list
| title = {{legend2|#990000|border=1px solid #200000|Countries above the 100-GW mark}} | title = {{legend2|#990000|border=1px solid #200000|Above 100-GW mark}}
|{{aligned table | cols=5 |{{aligned table | cols=5
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In 2020, wind supplied almost 1600 ] of electricity, which was over 5% of worldwide electrical generation and about 2% of energy consumption.<ref name="bpcom">{{cite web|title=bp Statistical Review of World Energy 2020|url=https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2020-full-report.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919060352/https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/statistical-review/bp-stats-review-2020-full-report.pdf|archive-date=19 September 2020|access-date=23 October 2020|publisher=BP p.l.c.|pages=55, 59}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> With over 100 ] added during 2020, mostly ], global installed wind power capacity reached more than 730 GW.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> But to help meet the ]'s goals to ], analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year.<ref name=":2" /> Expansion of wind power is being hindered by ].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2021-10-29|title=UNDP: More spent on fossil fuel subsidies than fighting poverty|url=https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/november-2021/undp-more-spent-fossil-fuel-subsidies-fighting-poverty|access-date=2021-11-24|website=Africa Renewal|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Fossil fuel subsidies and renewable energies in MENA: An oxymoron?|last=Mohseni-Cheraghlou|first=Amin|date=2021-02-23|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/fossil-fuel-subsidies-and-renewable-energies-mena-oxymoron|access-date=2021-11-24|work=Middle East Institute|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|date=2021-11-15|title=COP26: How much is spent supporting fossil fuels and green energy?|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/59233799|access-date=2021-11-24}}</ref>
]
{{external media|video1= }}


The actual amount of electric power that wind can generate is calculated by multiplying the ] by the ], which varies according to equipment and location. Estimates of the capacity factors for wind installations are in the range of 35% to 44%.<ref>Rick Tidball and others, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821101932/http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy11osti/48595.pdf |date=21 August 2014 }}, US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, November 2010, p.63.</ref>
The wind power industry set new records in 2014 – more than 50 GW of new capacity was installed. Another record-breaking year occurred in 2015, with 22% annual market growth resulting in the 60 GW mark being passed.<ref name="GWEC-Forecast-2016">{{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/global-figures/market-forecast-2012-2016/ |title=Market Forecast for 2016–2020 |access-date=27 May 2016 |website=report |publisher=GWEC}}</ref> In 2015, close to 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 and India. ] (GWEC) figures show that 2015 recorded an increase of installed capacity of more than 63 GW, taking the total installed wind energy capacity to 432.9 GW, up from 74 GW 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 investments reaching {{Currency|329|USD}}bn ({{Currency|296.6|EUR}}bn), an increase of 4% over 2014.{{efn-ua|1={{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/vip/GWEC-Global-Wind-2015-Report_April-2016_22_04.pdf |title=Global Wind Report 2014 – Annual Market Update |page=9 |date=22 April 2016 |access-date=23 May 2016 |website=report |publisher=GWEC |quote=2015 was an unprecedented year for the wind industry as annual installations crossed the 60 GW mark for the first time, and more than 63 GW of new wind power capacity was brought online. The last record was set in 2014 when over 52 GW of new capacity was installed globally. In 2015 total investments in the clean energy sector reached a record USD 329 ] (EUR 296.6 bn). The new global total for wind power at the end of 2015 was 433 GW}}}}<ref name="gwec2007" />


===Capacity factor===
Although the ] was affected by the ] in 2009 and 2010, GWEC predicts that the installed capacity of wind power will be 792.1 GW by the end of 2020<ref name="GWEC-Forecast-2016" /> and 4,042 GW by end of 2050.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/GWEO2014_WEB.pdf |title=Global Wind Energy Outlook 2014 |date= October 2014 |access-date=27 May 2016 |website=report |publisher=GWEC}}</ref> The increased commissioning of wind power is being accompanied by record low prices for forthcoming renewable electric power. In some cases, wind onshore is already the cheapest electric power generation option and costs are continuing to decline. The contracted prices for wind onshore for the next few years are now as low as US$30/MWh.
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. Online data is available for some locations, and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.<ref name="MassMaritime"> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211113537/http://view2.fatspaniel.net/FST/Portal/LighthouseElectrical/maritime/HostedAdminView.html |date=11 February 2007}} This 660&nbsp;kW wind turbine has a capacity factor of about 19%.</ref><ref name="iesoOntarioWind"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810202450/http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/marketdata/windpower.asp |date=10 August 2014}} These wind farms have capacity factors of about 28–35%.</ref>

In the EU in 2015, 44% of all new generating capacity was wind power; while in the same period net fossil fuel power capacity decreased.<ref name="EWEA2015" />

=== Capacity factor ===

Since wind speed is not constant, a wind farm's annual ] 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 ]. Typical capacity factors are 15–50%; values at the upper end of the range are achieved in favorable sites and are due to wind turbine design improvements.<ref name="ceereCapInter" /><ref name="capacity-factor-50">{{cite web|last=Shahan |first=Zachary |url=https://cleantechnica.com/2012/7/27/wind-turbine-net-capacity-factor-50-the-new-normal/|title=Wind Turbine Net Capacity Factor&nbsp;– 50% the New Normal? |publisher=Cleantechnica.com |date=27 July 2012 |access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref>{{efn-ua|1=For example, a 1&nbsp;MW turbine with a capacity factor of 35% will not produce 8,760&nbsp;MW·h in a year (1 × 24 × 365), but only 1 × 0.35 × 24 × 365&nbsp;=&nbsp;3,066&nbsp;MW·h, averaging to 0.35&nbsp;MW}}

Online data is available for some locations, and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.<ref name="MassMaritime" /><ref name="iesoOntarioWind" /> For example, the German nationwide average wind power capacity factor overall of 2012 was just under 17.5% (45,867 GW·h/yr / (29.9 GW × 24 × 366) = 0.1746),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/downloads-englisch/pdf-files-englisch/news/electricity-production-from-solar-and-wind-in-germany-in-2012.pdf |title=Electricity production from solar and wind in Germany in 2012 |date=8 February 2013 |publisher=Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230536/http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/downloads-englisch/pdf-files-englisch/news/electricity-production-from-solar-and-wind-in-germany-in-2012.pdf |archive-date=2 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the capacity factor for Scottish wind farms averaged 24% between 2008 and 2010.<ref>(6 April 2011) John Muir Trust and Stuart Young Consulting, Retrieved 26 March 2013</ref>

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 ] relative to the turbine's swept area. A small generator would be cheaper and achieve a higher capacity factor but would produce less ] (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 ] out at low wind speed. Thus an optimum capacity factor of around 40–50% would be aimed for.<ref name="capacity-factor-50" /><ref name="capFactors" />

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.<ref name="Windpowering" /> In 2010, the department estimated the capacity factor of new wind turbines in 2010 to be 45%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.openei.org/apps/TCDB/ |title=Transparent Cost Database |publisher=En.openei.org |date=20 March 2009 |access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref> The annual average capacity factor for wind generation in the US has varied between 29.8% and 34% during the period 2010–2015.<ref>US Energy Information Administration, , Electric Power Monthly, June 2016.</ref>


=== Penetration === === Penetration ===
]
{| class="wikitable floatright"
Wind energy penetration is the fraction of energy produced by wind compared with the total generation. Wind power's share of worldwide electricity usage in 2021 was almost 7%,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/renewable-energy.html.html#wind-energy |publisher=] |access-date=15 January 2020 |title=Renewable energy |archive-date=6 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106215146/https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/renewable-energy.html.html#wind-energy |url-status=live }}</ref> up from 3.5% in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2016 – Electricity|url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-electricity.pdf|publisher=BP|access-date=12 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910023428/http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-electricity.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2016 – Renewable energy |url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-renewable-energy.pdf |publisher=BP |access-date=12 September 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818051801/http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-renewable-energy.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! Country !! Year<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/217804/wind-energy-penetration-by-country/|title=Approximate wind energy penetration in leading wind markets in 2019|website=statista|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref> !! Penetration<sup>a</sup>
|-
| ] || align="center" | 2019 || align="center" | 48%
|-
|] || align="center" | 2020<ref>{{cite web|url= https://windenergyireland.com/latest-news/5315-wind-energy-powers-ireland-to-renewable-energy-target |title=Wind Energy Powers Ireland to Renewable Energy Target|date=28 Jan 2021 |access-date=}}</ref>|| align="center" | 36.3%
|-
| ] || align="center" | 2019 || align="center" | 27%
|-
| ] || align="center" | 2019 || align="center" | 26%
|-
| ] || align="center" | 2020<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgrideso.com/news/record-breaking-2020-becomes-greenest-year-britains-electricity|title=Record-breaking 2020 becomes greenest year for Britain's electricity, January 2021|access-date=3 March 2021}}</ref> || align="center" | 24.8%
|-
| ] || align="center" | 2019 || align="center" | 7%
|-
| colspan="3" style="font-size:80%" | <sup>a</sup>Percentage of wind power generation <br />over total electricity consumption
|}
]


There is no generally accepted maximum level of wind penetration. The limit for a particular ] will depend on the existing generating plants, pricing mechanisms, capacity for ], demand management, and other factors. An interconnected electric power grid will already include ] and ] 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.<ref name=tacklingUS>
Wind energy penetration is the fraction of energy produced by wind compared with the total generation. Wind power's share of worldwide electricity usage at the end of 2018 was 4.8%,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy/renewable-energy.html.html#wind-energy |publisher=] |access-date=15 January 2020 |title=Renewable energy}}</ref> up from 3.5% in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2016 – Electricity|url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-electricity.pdf|publisher=BP|access-date=12 September 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910023428/http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-electricity.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2016 – Renewable energy |url=http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-renewable-energy.pdf |publisher=BP |access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref>
{{cite web
| url=http://ases.org/images/stories/file/ASES/climate_change.pdf
| title=Tackling Climate Change in the U.S
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081126220129/http://www.ases.org/images/stories/file/ASES/climate_change.pdf
| archive-date=26 November 2008
| publisher= American Solar Energy Society
| date=January 2007 | access-date=5 September 2007}}
</ref> These studies have been for locations with geographically dispersed wind farms, some degree of ] or ] with storage capacity, demand management, and interconnected to a large grid area enabling the export of electric power when needed. Electrical utilities continue to study the effects of large-scale penetration of wind generation on system stability.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-08|title=New research shows Wind turbines, configured right, could provide grid stability|url=https://energypost.eu/new-research-shows-wind-turbines-configured-right-could-provide-grid-stability/|access-date=2022-01-25|website=Energy Post|language=en-GB}}</ref>


A wind energy penetration figure can be specified for different duration of time but is often quoted annually. To generate almost all electricity from wind annually requires substantial interconnection to other systems, for example some ] is sent to the rest of the ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-04-01 |title=Low winds blamed for fall in Scotland's renewable energy production |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-60948639 |access-date=2023-01-20}}</ref> 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, exported or curtailed. The 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 the production of silicon, aluminum,<ref>Andresen, Tino. " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407022716/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-27/molten-aluminum-lakes-offer-power-storage-for-german-wind-farms |date=7 April 2017 }}" '']'', 27 October 2014.</ref> steel, or natural gas, and hydrogen, and using future long-term storage to facilitate 100% energy from ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Luoma, Jon R. |url=http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_challenge_for_green_energy_how_to_store_excess_electricity/2170/ |title=The Challenge for Green Energy: How to Store Excess Electricity |publisher=E360.yale.edu |date=13 July 2001 |access-date=8 November 2012 |archive-date=6 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406032321/http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_challenge_for_green_energy_how_to_store_excess_electricity/2170/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://revmodo.com/2012/08/23/power-to-gas-technology-turns-excess-wind-energy-into-natural-gas/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005211707/http://revmodo.com/2012/08/23/power-to-gas-technology-turns-excess-wind-energy-into-natural-gas/ |archive-date=5 October 2012 |author=Buczynski, Beth |title=Power To Gas Technology Turns Excess Wind Energy Into Natural Gas |publisher=Revmodo.com |date=23 August 2012}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=too old|date=January 2023}} Homes and businesses can also be programmed to ],<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is demand-side response |url=https://en.energinet.dk/electricity/green-electricity/demand-side-response/what-is-demand-side-response/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=en.energinet.dk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-18 |title=Managing wind volatility in Ireland with demand response |url=https://gridbeyond.com/managing-wind-volatility-in-ireland-with-demand-response/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=GridBeyond |language=en-US}}</ref> for example by remotely turning up water heater thermostats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Demand Response – Analysis |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/demand-response |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref>
There is no generally accepted maximum level of wind penetration. The limit for a particular ] will depend on the existing generating plants, pricing mechanisms, capacity for ], demand management, and other factors. An interconnected electric power grid will already include ] and ] 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.<ref name="tacklingUS" /> These studies have been for locations with geographically dispersed wind farms, some degree of ] or ] with storage capacity, demand management, and interconnected to a large grid area enabling the export of electric power 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.{{efn-ua|name=NGestimates|1=The UK System Operator, ] have quoted estimates of balancing costs for 40% wind and these lie in the range £500-1000M per annum. "These balancing costs represent an additional £6 to £12 per annum on average consumer electricity bill of around £390."{{cite web
| website=National Grid
| year=2008
| title=National Grid's response to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Select Committee investigating the economics of renewable energy
| url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/EA273%20National%20Grid%20Response%20on%20Economics%20of%20Renewable%20Energy.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325012754/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/EA273%20National%20Grid%20Response%20on%20Economics%20of%20Renewable%20Energy.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2009}}}}<ref name="minnesota" /><ref name="ESB2004Study" /><ref name="sinclairMerz" />

A wind energy penetration figure can be specified for different duration of time but is often quoted annually. To obtain 100% from wind annually requires substantial long-term storage or substantial interconnection to other systems that 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, exported or curtailed. The 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 the production of silicon, aluminum,<ref>Andresen, Tino. "" '']'', 27 October 2014.</ref> steel, or natural gas, and hydrogen, and using future long-term storage to facilitate 100% energy from ].<ref>{{cite web|author= Luoma, Jon R. |url=http://e360.yale.edu/feature/the_challenge_for_green_energy_how_to_store_excess_electricity/2170/ |title=The Challenge for Green Energy: How to Store Excess Electricity |publisher=E360.yale.edu |date= 13 July 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://revmodo.com/2012/08/23/power-to-gas-technology-turns-excess-wind-energy-into-natural-gas/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005211707/http://revmodo.com/2012/08/23/power-to-gas-technology-turns-excess-wind-energy-into-natural-gas/ |archive-date=5 October 2012 |author=Buczynski, Beth |title=Power To Gas Technology Turns Excess Wind Energy Into Natural Gas |publisher=Revmodo.com |date=23 August 2012}}</ref> Homes can also be programmed to accept extra electric power on demand, for example by remotely turning up water heater thermostats.<ref>Wals, Matthew L. (4 November 2011) . New York Times. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202231507/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/business/energy-environment/as-wind-energy-use-grows-utilities-seek-to-stabilize-power-grid.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |date=2 December 2012}}</ref>


=== Variability === === Variability ===
Line 476: Line 348:


], near an ].]] ], near an ].]]
] ]: an onshore wind farm in ] near ]]]


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 ]s such as wind power is more frequent than 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. Wind power is variable, and during low wind periods, it may need to 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 ]s such as wind power is more frequent than 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.


Electric power 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-] nature of wind energy production can raise costs for regulation, incremental ], and (at high penetration levels) could require an increase in the already existing ], ], storage solutions, or system interconnection with ] cables. Electric power 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} 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-] nature of wind energy production can raise costs for regulation, incremental ], and (at high penetration levels) could require an increase in the already existing ], ], storage solutions, or system interconnection with ] cables.


Fluctuations in load and allowance for the failure of large fossil-fuel generating units require operating reserve capacity, which can be increased to compensate for the variability of wind generation. Fluctuations in load and allowance for the failure of large fossil-fuel generating units require operating reserve capacity, which can be increased to compensate for the variability of wind generation.


] are often used to balance hourly and shorter timescale variation,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Katz|first=Cheryl|title=The batteries that could make fossil fuels obsolete|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201217-renewable-power-the-worlds-largest-battery|access-date=2021-11-23|website=www.bbc.com|language=en|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111075439/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201217-renewable-power-the-worlds-largest-battery|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-14|title=Report: An additional 20GWh of battery storage could significantly reduce wind power curtailment in UK|url=https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/report-an-additional-20gwh-of-battery-storage-could-significantly-reduce-wind-power-curtailment-in-uk/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=Renewable Energy World|language=en-US|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226223141/https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/storage/report-an-additional-20gwh-of-battery-storage-could-significantly-reduce-wind-power-curtailment-in-uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> but ] may gain ground from the mid-2020s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Answers to the UK's wind energy storage issues are emerging – NS Energy|date=9 September 2021 |url=https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/wind-energy-storage-in-the-uk-is-posing-problems-but-long-term-solutions-are-emerging/|access-date=2021-11-23|language=en-US|archive-date=10 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910082016/https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/wind-energy-storage-in-the-uk-is-posing-problems-but-long-term-solutions-are-emerging/|url-status=live}}</ref> Wind power advocates argue that periods of low wind can be dealt with by simply restarting existing power stations that have been held in readiness, or interlinking with HVDC.<ref name="Czisch-Giebel"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701230913/http://www.risoe.dk/rispubl/reports/ris-r-1608_186-195.pdf |date=1 July 2014}} Gregor Czisch, University of Kassel, Germany and Gregor Giebel, Risø National Laboratory, Technical University of Denmark</ref>
Presently, grid systems with large wind penetration require a small increase in the frequency of usage of ] spinning reserve power plants to prevent a loss of electric power if there is no wind. At low wind power penetration, this is less of an issue.<ref name="is windpower reliable" /><ref name="clavertonReliable" /><ref>Milligan, Michael (October 2010) . National Renewable Energy Laboratory, p. 11.</ref>


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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual variable renewable energy share and corresponding system integration phase in selected countries/regions, 2018 – Charts – Data & Statistics |url=https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/annual-variable-renewable-energy-share-and-corresponding-system-integration-phase-in-selected-countries-regions-2018 |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=IEA |language=en-GB}}</ref>
GE has installed a prototype wind turbine with an onboard battery similar to that of an electric car, equivalent to 60 seconds of production. Despite the small capacity, it is enough to guarantee that power output complies with the forecast for 15 minutes, as the battery is used to eliminate the difference rather than provide full output. In certain cases, the increased predictability can be used to take wind power penetration from 20 to 30 or 40 percent. The battery cost can be retrieved by selling burst power on demand and reducing backup needs from gas plants.<ref>Bullis, Kevin. "" ], 7 May 2013. Accessed: 29 June 2013.</ref>

In the UK there were 124 separate occasions from 2008 to 2010 when the nation's wind output fell to less than 2% of installed capacity.<ref> 2011</ref> 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.<ref name="Denmark" /> 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.<ref name="Czisch-Giebel" /> 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.<ref name="Denmark" /> 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, ] which can be relied on to handle peak loads, as long as minimum criteria are met for wind speed and turbine height.<ref name="connecting_wind_farms" /><ref name="Archer2007" />

Conversely, on particularly windy days, even with penetration levels of 16%, wind power generation can surpass all other electric power sources in a country. In Spain, in the early hours of 16 April 2012 wind power production reached the highest percentage of electric power production until then, at 60.5% of the total demand.<ref name="eolica" /> In Denmark, which had a power market penetration of 30% in 2013, over 90&nbsp;hours, wind power generated 100% of the country's power, peaking at 122% of the country's demand at 2&nbsp; am on 28 October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecontributor.com/environment/how-wind-met-all-denmark%E2%80%99s-electricity-needs-90-hours|title=How Wind Met All of Denmark's Electricity Needs for 90 Hours|author=Bentham Paulos|website=The Contributor|date=16 December 2013|access-date=5 April 2014}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Increase in system operation costs, Euros per MWh, for 10% & 20% wind share<ref name="ieawind" />
|-
! scope="col" | Country !! scope="col" | 10% !! scope="col" | 20%
|-
| 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
|}

A 2006 ] 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 by adding 20% to the operating reserve, but it does not make the grid unmanageable. The modest additional costs can be quantified.<ref name="abbess" />

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:

{{quote|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 electric power grids". In fact, not one of more than 200 international studies, nor official studies for the eastern and western U.S. regions, nor the ], 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.|<ref>{{cite book|year=2011|title=Reinventing Fire|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|page=199|title-link=Reinventing Fire}}</ref>}}


] ]
] tends to be complementary to wind.<ref name="windsun" /><ref name="smallWindSystems" /> On daily to weekly timescales, ]s tend to bring clear skies and low surface winds, whereas ]s 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.{{efn-ua|1=] is an exception}}<ref name="cleveland_water_crib" /> Thus the seasonal variation of wind and solar power tend to cancel each other somewhat.<ref name="balancing-europe">Kaspar, F., Borsche, M., Pfeifroth, U., Trentmann, J., Drücke, J., and Becker, P.: A climatological assessment of balancing effects and shortfall risks of photovoltaics and wind energy in Germany and Europe, Adv. Sci. Res., 16, 119–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-119-2019, 2019</ref> In 2007 the Institute for Solar Energy Supply Technology of the ] pilot-tested a ] linking solar, wind, ], and ] to provide load-following power around the clock and throughout the year, entirely from renewable sources.<ref name="combined_power_plant" /> ] tends to be complementary to wind.<ref name=windsun>Wood, Shelby (21 January 2008) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118135025/http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen/2008/01/wind_sun_join_forces_at_washin.html |date=18 January 2012 }}. ''The Oregonian''.</ref><ref name=smallWindSystems>{{cite web |url=http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re/wind/smallwind.php |title=Small Wind Systems |publisher=Seco.cpa.state.tx.us |access-date=29 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023190904/http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re/wind/smallwind.php |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On daily to weekly timescales, ]s tend to bring clear skies and low surface winds, whereas ]s 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.{{efn-ua|1=] is an exception}}<ref name="cleveland_water_crib">{{cite web |url = http://www.development.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_development/en-US/ExeSum_WindResrc_CleveWtrCribMntr_Reprt.pdf |title = Lake Erie Wind Resource Report, Cleveland Water Crib Monitoring Site, Two-Year Report Executive Summary |publisher = Green Energy Ohio |date = 10 January 2008 |access-date = 27 November 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217063550/http://www.development.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_development/en-US/ExeSum_WindResrc_CleveWtrCribMntr_Reprt.pdf |archive-date = 17 December 2008 |url-status=dead |df = dmy-all}} This study measured up to four times as much average wind power during winter as in summer for the test site.</ref> Thus the seasonal variation of wind and solar power tend to cancel each other somewhat.<ref name="balancing-europe">Kaspar, F., Borsche, M., Pfeifroth, U., Trentmann, J., Drücke, J., and Becker, P.: A climatological assessment of balancing effects and shortfall risks of photovoltaics and wind energy in Germany and Europe, Adv. Sci. Res., 16, 119–128, https://doi.org/10.5194/asr-16-119-2019 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094345/https://asr.copernicus.org/articles/16/119/2019/ |date=24 November 2021 }}, 2019</ref> ] are becoming more popular.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-23|title=Turkish Cengiz evaluates expansion of its giant hybrid power plant|url=https://balkangreenenergynews.com/turkish-cengiz-evaluates-expansion-of-its-giant-hybrid-power-plant/|access-date=2021-11-24|website=Balkan Green Energy News|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Predictability ===


===Predictability===
{{Main|Wind power forecasting}} {{Main|Wind power forecasting}}
Wind power forecasting methods are used, but the 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/system_integration_basics.html |title=Wind Systems Integration Basics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607000124/http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/system_integration_basics.html |archive-date=7 June 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/system_integration_basics.html |title=Wind Systems Integration Basics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607000124/http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/system_integration_basics.html |archive-date=7 June 2012}}</ref>


In summer 2021, ] fell due to the lowest winds in seventy years,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stevens|first=Pippa|date=2021-09-29|title=UK energy titan SSE says low wind, driest conditions in 70 years hit renewable generation|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/29/sse-says-low-wind-dry-conditions-hit-renewable-energy-generation.html|access-date=2021-11-23|website=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=11 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111110700/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/29/sse-says-low-wind-dry-conditions-hit-renewable-energy-generation.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the future, smoothing peaks by producing ] may help when wind has a larger share of generation.<ref>{{Cite web|title='UK's largest electrolyser' could fuel hundreds of bus journeys with wind power each day|url=https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/uk-s-largest-electrolyser-could-fuel-hundreds-of-bus-journeys-with-wind-power-each-day|access-date=2021-11-23|website=www.imeche.org|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122212128/https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/uk-s-largest-electrolyser-could-fuel-hundreds-of-bus-journeys-with-wind-power-each-day|url-status=live}}</ref>
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.{{efn-ua|name=Diesendorf|1={{citation |author=Diesendorf, Mark |year=2007 |title=Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy |page=119 |quote=Graham Sinden analyzed over 30 years of hourly wind speed data from 66 sites spread out over the United Kingdom. He found that the correlation coefficient of wind power fell from 0.6 at 200 km to 0.25 at 600 km separation (a perfect correlation would have a coefficient equal to 1.) There were no hours in the data set where the wind speed was below the cut-in wind speed of a modern wind turbine throughout the United Kingdom, and low wind speed events affecting more than 90 percent of the United Kingdom had an average recurrent rate of only one hour per year.|title-link=Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy}}}}


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.<ref name="huang" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uwig.org/IEA_Report_on_variability.pdf |title=Variability of Wind Power and other Renewables: Management Options and Strategies |publisher=IEA |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051230204247/http://www.uwig.org/IEA_Report_on_variability.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2005}}</ref> ]ing permits the electric-power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Santhosh|first1=Madasthu|last2=Venkaiah|first2=Chintham|last3=Kumar|first3=D. M. Vinod|date=2020|title=Current advances and approaches in wind speed and wind power forecasting for improved renewable energy integration: A review|journal=Engineering Reports|language=en|volume=2|issue=6|pages=e12178|doi=10.1002/eng2.12178|issn=2577-8196|doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref name="huang" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uwig.org/IEA_Report_on_variability.pdf |title=Variability of Wind Power and other Renewables: Management Options and Strategies |publisher=IEA |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051230204247/http://www.uwig.org/IEA_Report_on_variability.pdf |archive-date=30 December 2005}}</ref> ]ing permits the electric-power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Santhosh|first1=Madasthu|last2=Venkaiah|first2=Chintham|last3=Kumar|first3=D. M. Vinod|date=2020|title=Current advances and approaches in wind speed and wind power forecasting for improved renewable energy integration: A review|journal=Engineering Reports|language=en|volume=2|issue=6|pages=e12178|doi=10.1002/eng2.12178|issn=2577-8196|doi-access=free}}</ref>


It is thought that the most reliable low-carbon electricity systems will include a large share of wind power.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tong |first1=Dan |last2=Farnham |first2=David J. |last3=Duan |first3=Lei |last4=Zhang |first4=Qiang |last5=Lewis |first5=Nathan S. |last6=Caldeira |first6=Ken |last7=Davis |first7=Steven J. |date=2021-10-22 |title=Geophysical constraints on the reliability of solar and wind power worldwide |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=6146 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-26355-z |pmid=34686663 |pmc=8536784 |bibcode=2021NatCo..12.6146T |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>
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,<ref>{{cite news |last=Peterson |first=Kristen |title=The reliability of wind power |url=http://www.mndaily.com/2012/11/5/reliability-wind-power |newspaper=Minnesota Daily |date=5 November 2012}} {{dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>{{unreliable source? |date=October 2014}} whereas conventional generators, while far less variable, can suffer major unpredictable outages.


=== Energy storage === ===Energy storage===
{{main|Grid energy storage}} {{main|Grid energy storage}}
{{see also|List of energy storage projects}} {{see also|List of energy storage projects}}
]
] at ], includes a large ]. During hours of low electrical demand excess ] power is used to pump water up into the reservoir, which then provides an extra 174 MW of electric power during periods of peak demand.]]

Typically, conventional ] 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. Typically, conventional ] 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, ] or other forms of ] such as ] and ] can store energy developed by high-wind periods and release it when needed. 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 ] can offset the cost and losses of storage. For example, in the UK, the 2 GW ] 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.<ref name="dinorwig" /><ref name="futureStorage" /> Alternatively, where a suitable head of water is not available, ] or other forms of ] such as ] and ] can store energy developed by high-wind periods and release it when needed. 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.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} 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 ] can offset the cost and losses of storage. 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.<ref name=dinorwig>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenage.co.uk/greencommercial/hydroelectric-power/dinorwig-hydroelectric-plant |title=Dinorwig Hydroelectric Plant, Wales |publisher=Thegreenage.co.uk |access-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111224833/http://www.thegreenage.co.uk/greencommercial/hydroelectric-power/dinorwig-hydroelectric-plant |archive-date=11 January 2013}}</ref><ref name=futureStorage>The Future of Electrical Energy Storage: The economics and potential of new technologies 2 January 2009 ID RET2107622</ref>

In particular geographic regions, peak wind speeds may not coincide with peak demand for electrical power, whether offshore or onshore. In the U.S. states of ] and ], for example, hot days in summer may have low wind speed and high electrical demand due to the use of ]. Some utilities subsidize the purchase of ]s by their customers, to reduce electric power demand during the summer months by making air conditioning up to 70% more efficient;<ref name="geothermal_incentive" /> widespread adoption of this technology would better match electric power 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 "]". In the U.S. it is estimated that to upgrade the transmission system to take in planned or potential renewables would cost at least US$60 bn,<ref name="slogin" /> while the social value of added wind power would be more than that cost.<ref>"" p. xiv. '']'', 2013. Retrieved: March 2015.</ref>

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 kWh in 2012.<ref>Birkenstock, Günther. , Bonn, Germany: DW Welle website, 11 November 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2014.</ref> 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 ] of oil it can be expected that countries will provide electric power storage, instead of expecting to use their neighbors for net metering.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201202/20120208ATT37544/20120208ATT37544EN.pdf|title=European Renewable Energy Network|page=71|date=January 2012|author=Altmann, M.|publisher=European Parliament|display-authors=etal}}</ref>

=== 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/part-2-grid-integration/chapter-6-wind-power-contribution-to-system-adequacy/capacity-credit-of-wind-power/ |title=Capacity Credit of Wind Power: Capacity credit is the measure for firm wind power |website=Wind Energy the Facts |publisher=EWEA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325212512/http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/part-2-grid-integration/chapter-6-wind-power-contribution-to-system-adequacy/capacity-credit-of-wind-power |archive-date=25 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/part-2-grid-integration/chapter-6-wind-power-contribution-to-system-adequacy/capacity-credit-of-wind-power/capacity-credit-values-of-wind-power.html |title=Capacity Credit Values of Wind Power |publisher=Wind-energy-the-facts.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604161455/http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/part-2-grid-integration/chapter-6-wind-power-contribution-to-system-adequacy/capacity-credit-of-wind-power/capacity-credit-values-of-wind-power.html |archive-date=4 June 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the ], production of wind power in the United States in 2015 avoided consumption of {{convert|73|e9USgal|e6m3|order=flip|abbr=off}} of water and reduced {{co2}} emissions by 132 million metric tons, while providing US$7.3 bn in public health savings.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605063748/http://www.awea.org/windandwater |date=5 June 2016}}. Awea.org. Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref><ref>. Awea.org (29 March 2016). Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref>

The energy needed to build a wind farm divided into the total output over its life, ], of wind power varies but averages about 20–25.<ref>. The Encyclopedia of Earth (7 June 2007)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1504/IJSM.2014.062496|lay-url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/6/140616093317.htm |title=Comparative life cycle assessment of 2.0 MW wind turbines |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=170 |year=2014 |last1=Haapala |first1=Karl R. |last2=Prempreeda |first2=Preedanood}}</ref> Thus, the energy payback time is typically around a year.


== Economics == === Energy payback ===
]
Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power, competitive with or in many places cheaper than coal or gas plants.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-04-28|title=Solar and Wind Cheapest Sources of Power in Most of the World|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-28/solar-and-wind-cheapest-sources-of-power-in-most-of-the-world|access-date=2020-12-12}}</ref> According to ], wind turbines reached ] (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%.<ref name="businessgreen">, BusinessGreen, 14 November 2011</ref> According to ], it is difficult to predict whether wind power would remain viable in the United States without subsidies.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McDonald |first1=Jessica |title=Does Wind 'Work' Without Subsidies? |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2019/07/does-wind-work-without-subsidies/ |access-date=17 July 2019 |work=FactCheck.org |date=16 July 2019}}</ref> In March 2021 the CEO of ] warned however that increased that high demand for low-cost wind turbines combined with high input costs and high costs of steel result in increased pressure on the manufactures and decreasing profit margins.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Subscribe to read {{!}} Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/49d77f86-2a85-414e-b879-b4c00a51887f|access-date=2021-06-16|website=www.ft.com}}</ref>


The energy needed to build a wind farm divided into the total output over its life, ], of wind power varies, but averages about 20–25.<ref>. The Encyclopedia of Earth (7 June 2007)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1504/IJSM.2014.062496 |title=Comparative life cycle assessment of 2.0 MW wind turbines |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=170 |year=2014 |last1=Haapala |first1=Karl R. |last2=Prempreeda |first2=Preedanood}}</ref> Thus, the energy payback time is typically around a year.
=== Electric power cost and trends ===


==Economics==
]
]
Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power, cheaper than coal plants and new gas plants.<ref name=":6" /> According to ], wind turbines reached ] (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%.<ref name="businessgreen"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117080111/http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2124487/onshore-wind-reach-grid-parity-2016 |date=17 January 2012 }}, BusinessGreen, 14 November 2011</ref>{{Update inline|date=September 2022}} In 2021, the CEO of ] warned that increased demand for low-cost wind turbines combined with high input costs and high costs of steel result in increased pressure on the manufacturers and decreasing profit margins.<ref>{{Cite news|title=World's largest offshore wind turbine maker warns of price pressures|url=https://www.ft.com/content/49d77f86-2a85-414e-b879-b4c00a51887f|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-16|newspaper=Financial Times|date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200237/https://www.ft.com/content/49d77f86-2a85-414e-b879-b4c00a51887f}}</ref>


Northern Eurasia, Canada, some parts of the United States, and ] in Argentina are the best areas for onshore wind: whereas in other parts of the world solar power, or a combination of wind and solar, tend to be cheaper.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bogdanov |first1=Dmitrii |last2=Ram |first2=Manish |last3=Aghahosseini |first3=Arman |last4=Gulagi |first4=Ashish |last5=Oyewo |first5=Ayobami Solomon |last6=Child |first6=Michael |last7=Caldera |first7=Upeksha |last8=Sadovskaia |first8=Kristina |last9=Farfan |first9=Javier |last10=De Souza Noel Simas Barbosa |first10=Larissa |last11=Fasihi |first11=Mahdi |date=2021-07-15 |title=Low-cost renewable electricity as the key driver of the global energy transition towards sustainability |journal=Energy |language=en |volume=227 |pages=120467 |doi=10.1016/j.energy.2021.120467 |s2cid=233706454 |issn=0360-5442|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021Ene...22720467B }}</ref>{{Rp|page=8}}
] projects that the Levelized cost of wind power in the United States will decline about 25% from 2012 to 2030.<ref>Lantz, E.; Hand, M. and Wiser, R. (13–17 May 2012) National Renewable Energy Laboratory conference paper no. 6A20-54526, p. 4</ref>]]


===Electric power cost and trends===
] in the U.K. (2008). Even longer ] are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation.]] ] in the U.K. (2008). Even longer ] are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation.]]
{{See also|Cost of electricity by source}}
Wind power is ] but has no fuel costs.<ref name="IRENA">Dolf Gielen. "" '']'', June 2012. Quote: "wind is capital intensive, but has no fuel costs"</ref> The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423231722/http://www.nationalgridus.com/non_html/c3-3_NG_wind_policy.pdf |date=23 April 2014}}. National Grid US (September 2006).</ref> However, the estimated ] per unit of electric power must incorporate the cost of construction of the turbine and transmission facilities, borrowed funds, return to investors (including the cost of risk), estimated annual production, and other components, averaged over the projected useful life of the equipment, which may be more than 20 years. Energy cost estimates are highly dependent on these assumptions so published cost figures can differ substantially.


The presence of wind energy, even when subsidized, can reduce costs for consumers (€5 billion/yr in Germany) by reducing the marginal price, by minimizing the use of expensive ]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rao |first=K.R |date=October 17, 2019 |title=Wind Energy for Power Generation: Meeting the Challenge of Practical Implementation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY23DwAAQBAJ&q=he+presence+of+wind+energy%2C+even+when+subsidized%2C+can+reduce+costs+for+consumers+%28%E2%82%AC5+billion%2Fyr+in+Germany%29+by+reducing+the+marginal+price%2C+by+minimizing+the+use+of+expensive+peaking+power+plants.&pg=PA586 |url-status=live |location= |publisher=Springer Nature, 2019 |isbn=978-3319751344 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094409/https://books.google.com/books?id=bY23DwAAQBAJ&q=he+presence+of+wind+energy%2C+even+when+subsidized%2C+can+reduce+costs+for+consumers+%28%E2%82%AC5+billion%2Fyr+in+Germany%29+by+reducing+the+marginal+price%2C+by+minimizing+the+use+of+expensive+peaking+power+plants.&pg=PA586 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |access-date=4 May 2021 }}</ref>
Wind power is ] but has no fuel costs.<ref name="IRENA">Dolf Gielen. "" '']'', June 2012. Quote: "wind is capital intensive, but has no fuel costs"</ref> The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources.<ref>. National Grid US (September 2006).</ref> The ] of wind energy once a station is constructed is usually less than 1-cent per kW·h.<ref name="Patel" />


The cost has decreased 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 expenditure costs and maintenance costs have continued to decline.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/14/banner-year-us-wind-industry |title=A Banner Year for the U.S. Wind Industry |author=Danielson, David |via=] |work=] |date=14 August 2012 |access-date=1 March 2021 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310021408/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/14/banner-year-us-wind-industry |url-status=live }}</ref>
The global average total installed costs for onshore wind power in 2017 was $1477 per kW, and $4239 per kW for offshore, but with wide variation in both cases.<ref>{{cite book |title=Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2017 |date=Jan 2018 |publisher=International Renewable Energy Agency |isbn=978-92-9260-040-2 |page=11 |url=https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2018/Jan/IRENA_2017_Power_Costs_2018_summary.pdf?la=en&hash=6A74B8D3F7931DEF00AB88BD3B339CAE180D11C3}} Figure ES.4</ref>


In 2021, a Lazard study of unsubsidized electricity said that wind power ] continues to fall but more slowly than before. The study estimated new wind-generated electricity cost from $26 to $50/MWh, compared to new gas power from $45 to $74/MWh. The median cost of fully deprecated existing coal power was $42/MWh, nuclear $29/MWh and gas $24/MWh. The study estimated offshore wind at around $83/MWh. ] was 4% per year from 2016 to 2021, compared to 10% per year from 2009 to 2021.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Levelized Cost Of Energy, Levelized Cost Of Storage, and Levelized Cost Of Hydrogen|url=http://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-levelized-cost-of-storage-and-levelized-cost-of-hydrogen/|access-date=2021-11-24|website=Lazard.com|language=en}}</ref>
However, the estimated ] per unit of electric power must incorporate the cost of construction of the turbine and transmission facilities, borrowed funds, return to investors (including the cost of risk), estimated annual production, and other components, averaged over the projected useful life of the equipment, which may be more than 20 years. Energy cost estimates are highly dependent on these assumptions so published cost figures can differ substantially. In 2004, wind energy cost 1/5 of what it did in the 1980s, and some expected that downward trend to continue as larger multi-megawatt ] were mass-produced.<ref name="helming" /> In 2012 capital costs for wind turbines were substantially lower than 2008–2010 but still above 2002 levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=LBNL/NREL Analysis Predicts Record Low LCOE for Wind Energy in 2012–2013 |website=US Department of Energy Wind Program Newsletter |url=http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/wind/newsletter/detail.cfm/articleId=45 |access-date=10 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305025648/http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/wind/newsletter/detail.cfm/articleId%3D45 |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref>
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 electric power, 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."<ref name="salerno" />


===The value of wind power===
A British Wind Energy Association report gives an average generation cost of onshore wind power of around 3 pence (between US 5 and 6 cents) per kW·h (2005).<ref name="BWEA" /> 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 $56 per MW·h, coal at $53/MW·h and natural gas at $53.<ref name="eiadoe" /> Similar comparative results with natural gas were obtained in a governmental study in the UK in 2011.<ref name="ccc" /> 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.<ref name="nicola">{{cite journal|last1=Armaroli|first1=Nicola|last2=Balzani|first2=Vincenzo|year=2011|title=Towards an electricity-powered world|journal=Energy & Environmental Science|volume=4|issue=9|page=3193|doi=10.1039/c1ee01249e}}</ref> The presence of wind energy, even when subsidized, can reduce costs for consumers (€5 billion/yr in Germany) by reducing the marginal price, by minimizing the use of expensive ]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rao |first=K.R |date=October 17, 2019 |title=Wind Energy for Power Generation: Meeting the Challenge of Practical Implementation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bY23DwAAQBAJ&q=he+presence+of+wind+energy%2C+even+when+subsidized%2C+can+reduce+costs+for+consumers+%28%E2%82%AC5+billion%2Fyr+in+Germany%29+by+reducing+the+marginal+price%2C+by+minimizing+the+use+of+expensive+peaking+power+plants.&pg=PA586 |url-status= |location= |publisher=Springer Nature, 2019 |isbn=978-3319751344 |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref>
While the levelised costs of wind power may have reached that of traditional combustion based power technologies, the market value of the generated power is also lower due to the ] effect, which implies that electricity market prices are lower in hours with substantial generation of variable renewable energy due to the low marginal costs of this technology.<ref>{{cite journal | first1=Lion |last1= Hirth|
title=The market value of variable renewables: The effect of solar wind power variability on their relative price|journal=Energy Economics|volume=38 |year=2013|pages= 218–236|issn= 0140-9883| doi= 10.1016/j.eneco.2013.02.004 |bibcode= 2013EneEc..38..218H|url= https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-22900|hdl=1814/27135|hdl-access=free}} </ref> The effect has been identified in several European markets.<ref>{{ cite journal |first1 =Marijke| last1=Welisch |first2=André |last2=Ortner| first3=Gustav |last3=Resch |
title =Assessment of RES technology market values and the merit-order effect – an econometric multi-country analysis|journal = Energy & Environment|
volume = 27| number = 1| pages = 105–121| year =2016| doi = 10.1177/0958305X16638574
| bibcode=2016EnEnv..27..105W }}</ref> For wind power plants exposed to electricity market pricing in markets with high penetration of variable renewable energy sources, profitability can be challenged.


===Incentives and community benefits===
A 2012 EU study shows the ] of onshore wind power similar to coal when subsidies and ] are disregarded. Wind power has some of the lowest external costs.<ref>"" pp. iv, vii, 36. ''EcoFys'', 10 October 2014. Accessed: 20 October 2014. Size: 70 pages in 2MB.</ref>
Turbine prices have fallen significantly in recent years due to tougher competitive conditions such as the increased use of energy auctions, and the elimination of subsidies in many markets.<ref>{{cite web|author=Reed, Stanley|date=9 November 2017|title=As Wind Power Sector Grows, Turbine Makers Feel the Squeeze|url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/business/energy-environment/wind-turbine-vestas.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111152417/https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/business/energy-environment/wind-turbine-vestas.html|archive-date=11 November 2017|access-date=11 November 2017|publisher=TNT}}</ref> As of 2021, ] are still often given to offshore wind. But they are generally no longer necessary for onshore wind in countries with even a very low carbon price such as China, provided there are no competing ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=China's 2022 Wind Power Growth to Stay Strong Despite Subsidy End|url=https://www.fitchratings.com/research/corporate-finance/china-2022-wind-power-growth-to-stay-strong-despite-subsidy-end-23-11-2021 |access-date=2021-11-24|website=www.fitchratings.com}}</ref>


Secondary market forces provide incentives for businesses to use wind-generated power, even if there is a ]. For example, ] pay utility companies a premium that goes to subsidize and build new wind power infrastructure. Companies use wind-generated power, and in return, they can claim that they are undertaking strong "green" efforts.<ref name="green-e"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611235247/https://speakerdeck.com/resourcesolutions/the-2010-green-e-verification-report |date=11 June 2013 }} Retrieved on 20 May 2009</ref> Wind projects provide local taxes, or payments in place of taxes and strengthen the economy of rural communities by providing income to farmers with wind turbines on their land.<ref name="nine">American Wind Energy Association (2009) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113205504/http://www.slideshare.net/Calion/awea-annual-wind-report-2009|date=13 January 2013}} p. 11</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=1 August 2011|title=Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy in Fiscal Year 2010|url=http://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001012707/https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/|archive-date=1 October 2019|access-date=29 April 2012|website=Report|publisher=Energy Information Administration}}</ref>
In February 2013 ] New Energy Finance (BNEF) reported that the cost of generating electric power from new wind farms is cheaper than new coal or new baseload gas plants. When including the current ] 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."<ref name="bnef.com/2013/02/07/renewable-cheaper">{{cite news |title = Renewable energy now cheaper than new fossil fuels in Australia |newspaper = Bloomberg New Energy Finance |location = Sydney |publisher = Bloomberg Finance |date = 7 February 2013 |url = http://about.bnef.com/2013/02/07/renewable-energy-now-cheaper-than-new-fossil-fuels-in-australia/ |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130209233311/http://about.bnef.com/2013/02/07/renewable-energy-now-cheaper-than-new-fossil-fuels-in-australia/ |archive-date = 9 February 2013 |df = dmy-all}}</ref>
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 the "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.<ref name="bnef.com/2013/02/07/renewable-cheaper" /> In 2015 BNEF calculated the ] (LCOE) per MWh 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/07/onshore-wind-farms-cheapest-form-of-uk-electricity-report-shows |title=Onshore windfarms cheapest form of UK electricity, report shows |author=Macalister, Terry |website=The Guardian|date=7 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.bnef.com/press-releases/wind-solar-boost-cost-competitiveness-versus-fossil-fuels/ |title=Wind and solar boost cost-competitiveness versus fossil fuels |website=Bloomberg New Energy Finance|date=5 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-06/solar-wind-reach-a-big-renewables-turning-point-bnef |title=Solar & Wind Reach a Big Renewables Turning Point : BNEF |date=6 October 2015|website=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> A 2014 study showed unsubsidized ] costs between $37–81, depending on the region.<ref>"" p. 2. '']'', 2014.</ref> A 2014 US DOE report showed that in some cases ] prices for wind power had dropped to record lows of $23.5/MWh.<ref>. (PDF) energy.gov (August 2015).</ref>


The wind energy sector can also produce jobs during the construction and operating phase.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://windexchange.energy.gov/projects/economic-impacts | title=WINDExchange: Wind Energy's Economic Impacts to Communities }}</ref> Jobs include the manufacturing of wind turbines and the construction process, which includes transporting, installing, and then maintaining the turbines. An estimated 1.25 million people were employed in wind power in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wind energy industry – employment 2020 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/268400/jobs-in-the-wind-energy-industry-worldwide-since-2005/ |access-date=2022-09-19 |website=Statista |language=en}}</ref>
The cost has 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 expenditure costs and maintenance costs have continued to decline.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/14/banner-year-us-wind-industry |title=A Banner Year for the U.S. Wind Industry |author=Danielson, David |via=] |work=] |date=14 August 2012 }}</ref>
For example, the wind industry in the US in early 2014 was 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 {{convert|300-400|ft|m|order=flip|round=5}} above the ground can since 2014 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/business/energy-environment/wind-industrys-new-technologies-are-helping-it-compete-on-price.html?_r=0 |title=Wind Industry's New Technologies Are Helping It Compete on Price |author=Diane Cardwell |date=20 March 2014 |work=]}}</ref>


==Small-scale wind power==
Some initiatives are working to reduce the costs of electric power from offshore wind. One example is the ] 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 a 25% cost reduction in offshore wind by 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carbontrust.com/offshorewind |title=Offshore Wind Accelerator | publisher=The Carbon Trust |access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> ], 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 the energy equation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carbontrust.com/about-us/press/2014/09/global-wind-expert-offshore-wind-one-of-cheapest-uk-energy-sources-by-2025 |title=Global wind expert says offshore wind will be one of the cheapest UK energy sources by 2025 | publisher=The Carbon Trust |date=23 September 2014|access-date=20 January 2015}}</ref> He calculates the cost at that time to be 43 EUR/MWh for onshore, and 72 EUR/MWh for offshore wind.<ref>]. "" '']'', 13 September 2015. </ref>

In August 2017, the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a new report on a 50% reduction in wind power cost by 2030. The NREL is expected to achieve advances in wind turbine design, materials, and controls to unlock performance improvements and reduce costs. According to international surveyors, this study shows that cost-cutting is projected to fluctuate between 24% and 30% by 2030. In more aggressive cases, experts estimate cost reduction of up to 40% if the research and development and technology programs result in additional efficiency.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2017/science-driven-innovation-can-reduce-wind-energy-costs-by-50-percent-by-2030.html|title=Science-Driven Innovation Can Reduce Wind Energy Costs by 50% by 2030|last=Laurie|first=Carol|date=23 August 2017|work=NREL}}</ref>

In 2018 a Lazard study found that "The low end Levelized cost of onshore wind-generated energy is $29/MWh, compared to an average illustrative marginal cost of $36/MWh for coal", and noted that the average cost had fallen by 7% in a year.<ref name="Lazard2018">{{cite news |title=Levelized Cost of Energy and Levelized Cost of Storage 2018 |date=8 November 2018 |url=https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-and-levelized-cost-of-storage-2018/ |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>

=== Incentives and community benefits ===

{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| align = right
| width = 220
| image1 = GreenMountainWindFarm Fluvanna 2004.jpg
| image2 = Wind energy converter5.jpg
| caption1 = 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.<ref name="nine" /> Shown: the ], Texas.
| caption2 = Some of the 6,000 turbines in California's ] aided by tax incentives during the 1980s.<ref name="altamontPass" />
}}

The wind industry in the United States generates tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/49222.pdf |title=Strengthening America's Energy Security with Offshore Wind |date = February 2011|publisher=U.S. Department of Energy}}</ref> Wind projects provide local taxes, or payments in place of taxes and strengthen the economy of rural communities by providing income to farmers with wind turbines on their land.<ref name="nine" /><ref>{{cite web | title = Direct Federal Financial Interventions and Subsidies in Energy in Fiscal Year 2010 | website = Report | publisher = Energy Information Administration | date = 1 August 2011 | url = http://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/subsidy/ | access-date = 29 April 2012}}</ref>
Wind energy in many jurisdictions receives financial or other support to encourage its development. Wind energy benefits from ] 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 2¢/kWh in 1993 dollars for each kW·h produced, for the first 10 years; at 2¢ per kW·h in 2012, the credit was renewed on 2 January 2012, to include construction begun in 2013.<ref>{{cite news | last = Gerhardt|first=Tina|date=6 January 2013 | title = Wind Energy Gets a Boost Off Fiscal Cliff Deal | url = http://www.progressive.org/wind-energy-gets-boost-off-fiscal-cliff-deal | work = ]}}</ref>
A 30% tax credit can be applied instead of receiving the PTC.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/smart-energy-solutions/increase-renewables/production-tax-credit-for.html | title=Production Tax Credit for Renewable Energy | publisher=Ucsusa.org |date=2 January 2013 | access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US13F&re=1&ee=1 |title=Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC) |publisher=Dsireusa.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119170019/http://dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=US13F&re=1&ee=1 |archive-date=19 January 2013 }}</ref>
Another tax benefit is ]. Many American states also provide incentives, such as exemption from property tax, mandated purchases, and additional markets for "]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dsireusa.org/summarytables/finre.cfm |title=Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy |publisher=Dsireusa.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119160142/http://dsireusa.org/summarytables/finre.cfm |archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref> The ] contains extensions of credits for wind, including microturbines. Countries such as ] 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 ]s). These feed-in tariffs are typically set well above average electric power prices.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/11/italian-small-wind-growing-with-feed-in-tariffs |title=Italian Small Wind Growing with Feed-in Tariffs |publisher=Renewableenergyworld.com |author=Gipe, Paul |date=27 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cmia.net/Portals/0/Repository/GWEC%20China%20wind%20tariffs.57301d14-f357-4176-9ebb-7d6921a7ef9d.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230536/http://www.cmia.net/Portals/0/Repository/GWEC%20China%20wind%20tariffs.57301d14-f357-4176-9ebb-7d6921a7ef9d.pdf | archive-date=2 May 2013 | title=The Development of Wind Power Tariffs in China}}</ref>
In December 2013 U.S. Senator ] and other Republican senators argued that the "wind energy production tax credit should be allowed to expire at the end of 2013"<ref>{{cite news | title=2013 TNT 243-20 Senators Say Wind Energy Credit Should Be Allowed To Expire | publisher=] | date=17 December 2013 | author=Alexander, Lamar}}</ref> 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 ]. For example, ] pay utility companies a premium that goes to subsidize and build new wind power infrastructure. Companies use wind-generated power, and in return, they can claim that they are undertaking strong "green" efforts. In the US the organization Green-e monitors business compliance with these renewable energy credits.<ref name="green-e" />
Turbine prices have fallen significantly in recent years due to tougher competitive conditions such as the increased use of energy auctions, and the elimination of subsidies in many markets. For example, ], a wind turbine manufacturer, whose largest onshore turbine can pump out 4.2 megawatts of power, enough to provide electricity to roughly 5,000 homes, has seen prices for its turbines fall from €950,000 per megawatt in late 2016, to around €800,000 per megawatt in the third quarter of 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/business/energy-environment/wind-turbine-vestas.html | title=As Wind Power Sector Grows, Turbine Makers Feel the Squeeze | author=Reed, Stanley | date= 9 November 2017 | publisher=TNT}}</ref>

== Small-scale wind power ==
{{main|Small wind turbine}} {{main|Small wind turbine}}
{{Further|Microgeneration}} {{Further|Microgeneration}}
] ] ] on the roof of ] in ]. Measuring 3&nbsp;m in diameter and 5&nbsp;m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5&nbsp;kW.]]
Small-scale wind power is the name given to wind generation systems with the capacity to produce up to 50&nbsp;kW of electrical power.<ref name="smallScaleCarbonTrust">{{cite web |url=http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/reports/technology/small-scale-wind-energy |title=Small-scale wind energy |publisher=Carbontrust.co.uk |access-date=29 August 2010 |archive-date=14 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514062058/http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/reports/technology/small-scale-wind-energy |url-status=live }}</ref> Isolated communities, that may otherwise rely on ] generators, may use wind turbines as an alternative. Individuals may purchase these systems to reduce or eliminate their dependence on grid electric power for economic reasons, or to reduce their ]. Wind turbines have been used for household electric power generation in conjunction with ] storage over many decades in remote areas.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://telosnet.com/wind/20th.html | title = Part 2&nbsp;– 20th Century Developments | last = Dodge | first = Darrell M. | website = Illustrated history of wind power development | publisher = TelosNet Web Development | access-date = 27 April 2012 | archive-date = 28 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120328083701/http://telosnet.com/wind/20th.html | url-status = live }}</ref>


Examples of small-scale wind power projects in an urban setting can be found in ], where, since 2009, several building projects have capped their roofs with ]. 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" cannot, with some of the projects also receiving the direct support of the ].<ref>Chanban, Matt A.V.; Delaquérière, Alain. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709122333/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/nyregion/turbines-pop-up-on-new-york-roofs-along-with-questions-of-efficiency.html?ref=earth&gwh=7741044F383A0294E75C6B34AA88E68D |date=9 July 2017 }}, '']'' website, 26 May 2014, and in print on 27 May 2014, p. A19 of the New York edition.</ref>
] ] ] on the roof of ] in ]. Measuring 3&nbsp;m in diameter and 5&nbsp;m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5&nbsp;kW.]]


Grid-connected domestic wind turbines may use grid energy storage, thus replacing purchased electric power 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.<ref name="home-made"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818194835/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/Migration/article100906.ece |date=18 August 2014 }} ] 22 June 2008 Retrieved on 10 January 2013</ref>
Small-scale wind power is the name given to wind generation systems with the capacity to produce up to 50&nbsp;kW of electrical power.<ref name="smallScaleCarbonTrust" /> Isolated communities, that may otherwise rely on ] generators, may use wind turbines as an alternative. Individuals may purchase these systems to reduce or eliminate their dependence on grid electric power for economic reasons, or to reduce their ]. Wind turbines have been used for household electric power generation in conjunction with ] storage over many decades in remote areas.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://telosnet.com/wind/20th.html | title = Part 2&nbsp;– 20th Century Developments | last = Dodge | first = Darrell M. | website = Illustrated history of wind power development | publisher = TelosNet Web Development}}</ref>


Off-grid system users can either adapt to intermittent power or use batteries, ], or diesel systems to supplement the wind turbine.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ramirez Camargo|first1=Luis|last2=Nitsch|first2=Felix|last3=Gruber|first3=Katharina|last4=Valdes|first4=Javier|last5=Wuth|first5=Jane|last6=Dorner|first6=Wolfgang|date=January 2019|title=Potential Analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Self-Sufficient Residential Use in Germany and the Czech Republic|journal=Energies|language=en|volume=12|issue=21|pages=4185|doi=10.3390/en12214185|doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/13/exploiting-the-downsides-of-wind-and-solar/ | title=Wind, Solar-Powered Street Lights Only Need a Charge Once Every Four Days | last=Kart | first=Jeff | date=13 May 2009 | website=Clean Technica | access-date=30 April 2012 | archive-date=17 November 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117075022/http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/13/exploiting-the-downsides-of-wind-and-solar/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
Recent examples of small-scale wind power projects in an urban setting can be found in ], where, since 2009, several building projects have capped their roofs with ]. 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" cannot, with some of the projects also receiving the direct support of the ].<ref>Chanban, Matt A.V.; Delaquérière, Alain. , '']'' website, 26 May 2014, and in print on 27 May 2014, p. A19 of the New York edition.</ref>


]s, such as kites, can be used in places at risk of hurricanes, as they can be taken down in advance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nicola |title=The kites seeking the world's surest winds |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220309-the-kites-flying-to-harness-the-worlds-strongest-winds |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref>
Grid-connected domestic wind turbines may use ], thus replacing purchased electric power 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.<ref name="home-made" />

Off-grid system users can either adapt to intermittent power or use batteries, ], or diesel systems to supplement the wind turbine.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ramirez Camargo|first1=Luis|last2=Nitsch|first2=Felix|last3=Gruber|first3=Katharina|last4=Valdes|first4=Javier|last5=Wuth|first5=Jane|last6=Dorner|first6=Wolfgang|date=January 2019|title=Potential Analysis of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Self-Sufficient Residential Use in Germany and the Czech Republic|journal=Energies|language=en|volume=12|issue=21|pages=4185|doi=10.3390/en12214185|doi-access=free}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://cleantechnica.com/2009/05/13/exploiting-the-downsides-of-wind-and-solar/ | title=Wind, Solar-Powered Street Lights Only Need a Charge Once Every Four Days | last=Kart | first=Jeff | date=13 May 2009 | website=Clean Technica | publisher=Clean Technica | access-date=30 April 2012}}</ref>

A ] 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 electric power (0.4% of total UK electric power consumption), saving 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide (Mt CO<sub>2</sub>) emission savings. This is based on the assumption that 10% of households would install turbines at costs competitive with grid electric power, around 12 pence (US 19 cents) a kW·h.<ref name="CarbonSmallTrust" /> A report prepared for the UK's government-sponsored ] in 2006, found that home power generators of various kinds could provide 30 to 40% of the country's electric power needs by 2050.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Hamer | first=Mick | date = 21 January 2006 | title = The Rooftop Power Revolution | journal = New Scientist | issue = 2535 | url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18925351.400-the-rooftop-power-revolution.html?full=true#bx253514B1 | access-date = 11 April 2012}}</ref>

] from ]s is increasing as a consequence of the increased awareness of ]. The electronic interfaces required to connect renewable generation units with the ] system can include additional functions, such as the active filtering to enhance the power quality.<ref name="ActiveFiltering" />

== Environmental effects ==


== Impact on environment and landscape ==
{{Main|Environmental impact of wind power}} {{Main|Environmental impact of wind power}}
]
] grazing near a wind turbine.<ref name="livestock_ignore">{{cite web |url=http://www.uintacountyherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=1299 |title=Capturing the wind |first=Erin |last=Buller |date=11 July 2008 |publisher=Uinta County Herald |access-date=4 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731090354/http://www.uintacountyherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=1299&page=72 |archive-date=31 July 2008 }}"The animals don't care at all. We find cows and antelope napping in the shade of the turbines."&nbsp;– Mike Cadieux, site manager, Wyoming Wind Farm</ref>]]


The ] from wind power is minor when compared to that of ].<ref name=":7" /> Wind turbines have some of the lowest ]: far less ] than for the average unit of electricity, so wind power helps limit climate change.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=How Wind Energy Can Help Us Breathe Easier |url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/how-wind-energy-can-help-us-breathe-easier |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}}</ref> Use of engineered wood may allow carbon negative wind power.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23379076.flatpack-wood-turbines-give-wind-power-green-boost/ | title=Swedish flatpack wood turbines could give wind power a green boost | date=12 March 2023 }}</ref> Wind power consumes no fuel, and emits no local ], unlike fossil fuel power sources.
] grazing near a wind turbine.<ref name="livestock_ignore" />]]


Onshore wind farms can have a significant visual impact.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Visual impacts and acceptability of wind farms to councillors and senior council staff in Britain | year=2022 | doi=10.1080/00207233.2021.2017174 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207233.2021.2017174?journalCode=genv20| last1=Lothian | first1=Andrew | journal=International Journal of Environmental Studies | volume=80 | pages=113–136 | s2cid=245874077 }}</ref> Due to a very low ] and spacing requirements, wind farms typically need to be spread over more land than other power stations.<ref name="grantham" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=What are the pros and cons of onshore wind energy?|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-onshore-wind-energy/|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment|language=en-GB|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622123816/http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/faqs/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-onshore-wind-energy/|url-status=live}}</ref> Their network of turbines, access roads, transmission lines, and substations can result in "energy sprawl";<ref name="energyfootprint"/> although land between the turbines and roads can still be used for agriculture.<ref name="mar">{{cite web |url=http://solarwind.net.au/Documents/WindPowersStrength.pdf |title=Why Australia needs wind power |access-date=7 January 2012 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223035/http://solarwind.net.au/Documents/WindPowersStrength.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bwea.com/ref/faq.html |title=Wind energy Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=British Wind Energy Association |access-date=21 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419225935/http://www.bwea.com/ref/faq.html |archive-date=19 April 2006}}</ref> Some wind farms are opposed for potentially spoiling protected scenic areas, archaeological landscapes and heritage sites.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dodd |first1=Eimear |title=Permission to build five turbine wind farm at Kilranelagh refused |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/news/permission-to-build-five-turbine-wind-farm-at-kilranelagh-refused-40231644.html |access-date=18 January 2022 |work=] |date=27 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kula |first1=Adam |title=Department defends 500ft windfarm in protected Area of Outstanding Beauty |url=https://www.newsletter.co.uk/country-and-farming/department-defends-500ft-windfarm-in-protected-area-of-outstanding-beauty-3194391 |access-date=18 January 2022 |work=] |date=9 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Building wind farms 'could destroy Welsh landscape' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-50264159 |access-date=18 January 2022 |work=BBC News |date=4 November 2019}}</ref> A report by the ] concluded that wind farms harmed ] in areas known for natural landscapes and panoramic views.<ref>Gordon, David. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921180510/https://www.mountaineering.scot/assets/contentfiles/media-upload/Wind_farms_and_tourism_in_Scotland_-_a_review,_Nov_2017_20171106.pdf |date=21 September 2020 }}. ]. November 2017. p.3</ref>
The environmental impact of wind power is considered to be relatively minor compared to that of fossil fuels. According to the ], in assessments of the ], wind turbines have a ] value of 12 and 11 (]{{CO2}}]/]) for offshore and onshore turbines, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex II I: Technology – specific cost and performance parameters |url=http://report.mitigation2014.org/drafts/final-draft-postplenary/ipcc_wg3_ar5_final-draft_postplenary_annex-iii.pdf |publisher=IPCC |access-date=1 August 2014 |page=10 |year=2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140616215117/http://report.mitigation2014.org/drafts/final-draft-postplenary/ipcc_wg3_ar5_final-draft_postplenary_annex-iii.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=IPCC Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change, Annex II Metrics and Methodology. pp. 37–40, 41 |url=http://report.mitigation2014.org/drafts/final-draft-postplenary/ipcc_wg3_ar5_final-draft_postplenary_annex-ii.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140929140555/http://report.mitigation2014.org/drafts/final-draft-postplenary/ipcc_wg3_ar5_final-draft_postplenary_annex-ii.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2014}}</ref>
Compared with other ] sources, wind turbines have some of the lowest ] per unit of electrical energy generated.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.renene.2011.05.008|title=Life cycle assessment of two different 2 MW class wind turbines|journal=Renewable Energy |volume=37 |page=37 |year=2012 |last1=Guezuraga |first1=Begoña |last2=Zauner |first2=Rudolf| last3=Pölz| first3=Werner}}</ref>


Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest potential impacts on wildlife of onshore wind farms,<ref name="energyfootprint" /> but the worldwide ecological impact is minimal.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|last1=Dunnett|first1=Sebastian|last2=Holland|first2=Robert A.|last3=Taylor|first3=Gail|last4=Eigenbrod|first4=Felix|date=2022-02-08|title=Predicted wind and solar energy expansion has minimal overlap with multiple conservation priorities across global regions|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=119|issue=6|doi=10.1073/pnas.2104764119|doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424|pmid=35101973|pmc=8832964 |bibcode=2022PNAS..11904764D }}</ref> Thousands of birds and bats, including rare species, have been killed by wind turbine blades,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hosansky|first=David|date=April 1, 2011|title=Wind Power: Is wind energy good for the environment?|journal=CQ Researcher}}</ref> though wind turbines are responsible for far fewer bird deaths than fossil-fueled power stations when climate change effects are included.<ref name=":10">{{cite journal|last1=Sovacool|first1=B. K.|year=2013|title=The avian benefits of wind energy: A 2009 update|journal=Renewable Energy|volume=49|pages=19–24|doi=10.1016/j.renene.2012.01.074|bibcode=2013REne...49...19S }}</ref> Not including these effects, modern wind turbines kill about 0.273 birds per GWh in comparison with 0.200 by coal power plants.<ref name=":10" /> The effects of wind turbines on birds can be mitigated with proper wildlife monitoring.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Parisé|first1=J.|last2=Walker|first2=T. R.|year=2017|title=Industrial wind turbine post-construction bird and bat monitoring: A policy framework for Canada|journal=Journal of Environmental Management|volume=201|pages=252–259|doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.06.052|pmid=28672197|bibcode=2017JEnvM.201..252P }}</ref>
Onshore wind farms can have a significant visual impact and impact on the landscape.<ref>Thomas Kirchhoff (2014): , in: Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung 46 (1), 10–16.</ref> Their network of turbines, access roads, transmission lines, and substations can result in "energy sprawl".<ref name="energyfootprint"/> Due to a very low ] and specific spacing requirements, wind farms typically need to cover more land and be more spread out than other power stations.<ref name="grantham" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=What are the pros and cons of onshore wind energy?|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/explainers/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-onshore-wind-energy/|access-date=2020-12-12|website=Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment|language=en-GB}}</ref> For example, to power many major cities by wind alone would require building wind farms at least as big as the cities themselves.<ref>. GEV Wind Power. Based on .</ref> However, the land between the turbines and roads can still be used for agriculture.<ref name="mar" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bwea.com/ref/faq.html |title=Wind energy Frequently Asked Questions |publisher=British Wind Energy Association |access-date=21 April 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419225935/http://www.bwea.com/ref/faq.html |archive-date=19 April 2006}}</ref> As well as needing to be spread over more land, they also need to be built away from dense population.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Welle (www.dw.com)|first=Deutsche|title=The Germans fighting wind farms close to their homes {{!}} DW {{!}} 26.11.2019|url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-germans-fighting-wind-farms-close-to-their-homes/a-51417653|access-date=2020-12-12|website=DW.COM|language=en-GB}}</ref> Wind farms are typically built in wild and rural areas, which can lead to "industrialization of the countryside".<ref name="Szarka" /> A report by the ] concluded that wind farms harmed ] in areas known for natural landscapes and panoramic views.<ref>Gordon, Dr. David. . ]. November 2017. p.3</ref> Wind turbines also generate noise. At a residential distance of {{convert|300|m}} this may be around 45&nbsp;dB, which is slightly louder than a refrigerator. At {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=on|0}} distance they become inaudible.<ref>. GE Reports (2 August 2014). Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gipe, Paul |title=Wind Energy Comes of Age |url=https://archive.org/details/windenergycomeso00gipe |url-access=registration |date=1995 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-10924-2 |pages=–}}</ref> There are anecdotal reports of negative health effects from noise on people who live very close to wind turbines.<ref>{{cite journal | author= Gohlke JM et al. Environmental Health Perspectives | title= Health, Economy, and Environment: Sustainable Energy Choices for a Nation | pmc=2430245 | year= 2008 | volume= 116 | issue= 6 | pages= A236–A237 | doi= 10.1289/ehp.11602 | journal= Environmental Health Perspectives | pmid= 18560493}}</ref> Peer-reviewed research has generally not supported these claims.<ref>Professor Simon Chapman. "" ] School of Public Health, April 2015</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.thestar.com/business/article/738734--wind-gets-clean-bill-of-health | title = Wind Gets Clean Bill of Health | last=Hamilton | first=Tyler | date=15 December 2009 | newspaper = ] | pages = B1–B2 | access-date = 16 December 2009 | location = ]}}</ref><ref>Colby, W. David et al. (December 2009) , Canadian Wind Energy Association.</ref>


Many wind turbine blades are made of ], and have a lifetime of 20 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Journalist |first=Energy |date=2022-08-29 |title=How to manage future waste from wind turbine blades |url=https://www.energymagazine.com.au/how-to-manage-future-waste-from-wind-turbine-blades/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=Energy Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Blades are hollow: some blades are crushed to reduce their volume and then landfilled.<ref name="Argus">{{cite news |last1=Joe Sneve |title=Sioux Falls landfill tightens rules after Iowa dumps dozens of wind turbine blades |url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2019/08/27/why-sioux-falls-landfill-has-crack-down-dumping-minnesotas-wind-turbine-blades/2125629001/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=] |date=4 September 2019 |archive-date=24 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124094305/https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2019/08/27/why-sioux-falls-landfill-has-crack-down-dumping-minnesotas-wind-turbine-blades/2125629001/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, as they can take a lot of weight they can be made into long lasting small bridges for walkers or cyclists.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-07 |title=Renewable energy: The upcycled wind turbines getting a second life |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-66735712 |access-date=2023-09-07}}</ref> Blade end-of-life is complicated,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Beauson |first1=J. |last2=Laurent |first2=A. |last3=Rudolph |first3=D. P. |last4=Pagh Jensen |first4=J. |date=2022-03-01 |title=The complex end-of-life of wind turbine blades: A review of the European context |journal=Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews |language=en |volume=155 |pages=111847 |doi=10.1016/j.rser.2021.111847 |s2cid=244696750 |issn=1364-0321|doi-access=free |bibcode=2022RSERv.15511847B }}</ref> and blades manufactured in the 2020s are more likely to be designed to be completely recyclable.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=These bike shelters are made from wind turbines. |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/recycle-bike-wind-turbine/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=World Economic Forum |date=19 October 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation are the greatest impacts of wind farms on wildlife.<ref name="energyfootprint" /> The scale of the ecological impact may<ref name="Eilperin" /> or may not<ref name="rspb" /> be significant, depending on specific circumstances. In addition, these problems can be mitigated if proper monitoring and mitigation strategies are implemented.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Parisé|first1=J.|last2=Walker|first2=T. R.|year=2017|title=Industrial wind turbine post-construction bird and bat monitoring: A policy framework for Canada|journal=Journal of Environmental Management|volume=201|pages=252–259|doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.06.052|pmid=28672197}}</ref> Prevention and mitigation of wildlife fatalities, and protection of ],<ref name="blanketpeat" /> affect the siting and operation of wind turbines. Another effect of wind farms on wildlife is avian mortality. Thousands of birds, including rare species, have been killed by the blades of wind turbines,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hosansky|first=David|date=April 1, 2011|title=Wind Power: Is wind energy good for the environment?|journal=CQ Researcher}}</ref> though wind turbines contribute relatively insignificantly to anthropogenic avian mortality. Wind farms and nuclear power stations are responsible for between 0.3 and 0.4 bird deaths per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity while fossil fueled power stations are responsible for about 5.2 fatalities per GWh. In 2009, for every bird killed by a wind turbine in the US, nearly 500,000 were killed by cats and another 500,000 by buildings.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sovacool|first1=B. K.|year=2013|title=The avian benefits of wind energy: A 2009 update|journal=Renewable Energy|volume=49|pages=19–24|doi=10.1016/j.renene.2012.01.074}}</ref> In comparison, conventional coal fired generators contribute significantly more to bird mortality, by incineration when caught in updrafts of smoke stacks and by poisoning with emissions byproducts (including particulates and heavy metals downwind of flue gases)


Wind turbines also generate noise. At a distance of {{convert|300|m}}, this may be around 45&nbsp;dB, which is slightly louder than a refrigerator. At {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=on|0}}, they become inaudible.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215232603/http://www.gereports.com/post/92442325225/how-loud-is-a-wind-turbine |date=15 December 2014 }}. GE Reports (2 August 2014). Retrieved on 20 July 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Gipe, Paul |title=Wind Energy Comes of Age |url=https://archive.org/details/windenergycomeso00gipe |url-access=registration |date=1995 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-10924-2 |pages=–}}</ref> There are anecdotal reports of negative health effects on people who live very close to wind turbines.<ref>{{cite journal | author= Gohlke JM et al. Environmental Health Perspectives | title= Health, Economy, and Environment: Sustainable Energy Choices for a Nation | pmc=2430245 | year= 2008 | volume= 116 | issue= 6 | pages= A236–A237 | doi= 10.1289/ehp.11602 | journal= Environmental Health Perspectives | pmid= 18560493}}</ref> Peer-reviewed research has generally not supported these claims.<ref>Professor Simon Chapman. " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190522134504/https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/10559 |date=22 May 2019 }}" ] School of Public Health, April 2015</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.thestar.com/business/article/738734--wind-gets-clean-bill-of-health | title = Wind Gets Clean Bill of Health | last = Hamilton | first = Tyler | date = 15 December 2009 | newspaper = ] | pages = B1–B2 | access-date = 16 December 2009 | location = ] | archive-date = 18 October 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121018233814/http://www.thestar.com/business/article/738734--wind-gets-clean-bill-of-health | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>Colby, W. David et al. (December 2009) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618045430/https://canwea.ca/pdf/talkwind/Wind_Turbine_Sound_and_Health_Effects.pdf |date=18 June 2020 }}, Canadian Wind Energy Association.</ref>
Before 2019, many wind turbine blades had been made of ] with designs that only provided a service lifetime of 10 to 20 years.<ref name="Argus" /> Given the available technology, as of February 2018, there was no market for recycling these old blades,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rick Kelley |title=Retiring worn-out wind turbines could cost billions that nobody has |url=https://www.valleymorningstar.com/2017/02/18/retiring-worn-out-wind-turbines-could-cost-billions-that-nobody-has/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=] |date=18 February 2018 |quote=“The blades are composite, those are not recyclable, those can’t be sold,” Linowes said. “The landfills are going to be filled with blades in a matter of no time.”}}</ref> and they are commonly disposed of in landfills. Because blades are designed to be hollow, they take up a large volume compared to their mass. Landfill operators have therefore started requiring operators to crush the blades before they can be landfilled.<ref name="Argus">{{cite news |last1=Joe Sneve |title=Sioux Falls landfill tightens rules after Iowa dumps dozens of wind turbine blades |url=https://eu.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2019/08/27/why-sioux-falls-landfill-has-crack-down-dumping-minnesotas-wind-turbine-blades/2125629001/ |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=] |date=4 September 2019}}</ref>

The United States Air Force and Navy have expressed concern that siting large wind turbines near bases "will negatively impact radar to the point that air traffic controllers will lose the location of aircraft."<ref>{{cite web|author=Atwater, Pamela|date=6 May 2016|title=Navy, Air Force share concerns about wind turbines|url=https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/05/06/navy-air-force-share-concerns-about-wind-turbines/|website=The Buffalo News|place=New York}}</ref>


== Politics == == Politics ==
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=== Central government === === Central government ===


] in Japan.]]


Although wind turbines with fixed bases are a mature technology and new installations are generally no longer subsidized,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buljan |first=Adrijana |date=2022-11-11 |title=RWE Wins Dutch Subsidy-Free Offshore Wind Tender with 760 MW Project Including Green Hydrogen and Floating Solar |url=https://www.offshorewind.biz/2022/11/11/rwe-wins-dutch-subsidy-free-offshore-wind-tender-with-760-mw-project-including-green-hydrogen-and-floating-solar/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=Offshore Wind |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chinese Offshore Wind Capacity Boom Driven By State Subsidies |url=https://www.rigzone.com/news/chinese_offshore_wind_capacity_boom_driven_by_state_subsidies-23-nov-2022-171136-article/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=www.rigzone.com |language=en |quote=A key driver of the rush to add capacity was the termination of central government subsidies at the end of 2021.}}</ref> floating wind turbines are a relatively new technology so some governments subsidize them, for example to use deeper waters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Floating wind could be the key to clean energy transition |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/floating-wind-float-like-a-wind-turbine-on-the-high-sea/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=World Economic Forum |date=27 July 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
] and ]s are ], and wind power and other forms of renewable energy are also often subsidized. For example, a 2009 study by the Environmental Law Institute<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elistore.org/Data/products/d19_07.pdf |title=Estimating U.S. Government Subsidies to Energy Sources: 2002–2008 |publisher=Environmental Law Institute |date=September 2009 |access-date=31 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117072837/http://www.elistore.org/Data/products/d19_07.pdf |archive-date=17 January 2013 }}</ref> 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 totaled $29 billion. In the United States, the federal government has paid US$74&nbsp;billion for energy subsidies to support ] for ] ($50 billion) and ] ($24 billion) from 1973 to 2003. During this same time frame, ] technologies and ] received a total of US$26&nbsp; billion. It has been suggested that a subsidy shift would help to level the playing field and support growing energy sectors, namely ], wind power, and ].<ref name="per" /> History shows that no energy sector was developed without subsidies.<ref name="per">Pernick, Ron and Wilder, Clint (2007). '']: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity''. Collins. p. 280. {{ISBN|0-06-089623-X}}.</ref>


] by some governments are slowing the growth of renewables.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Timperley |first=Jocelyn |date=2021-10-20 |title=Why fossil fuel subsidies are so hard to kill |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=598 |issue=7881 |pages=403–405 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-02847-2 |pmid=34671143 |bibcode=2021Natur.598..403T |s2cid=239052649 |quote=Fossil-fuel subsidies are one of the biggest financial barriers hampering the world’s shift to renewable energy sources.|doi-access=free }}</ref>
According to the ] (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".<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2011/factsheets.pdf | title=World Energy Outlook 2011 Factsheet How will global energy markets evolve to 2035? | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120204112700/http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2011/factsheets.pdf |archive-date=4 February 2012 | publisher=IEA | date=November 2011}}</ref>
In November 2011, an IEA report entitled ''Deploying Renewables 2011'' said: "subsidies in green energy technologies that were not yet competitive are justified 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.


Permitting of wind farms can take years and some governments are trying to speed up – the wind industry says this will help limit climate change and increase energy security<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explainer: What is offshore wind and what does its future look like? |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/offshore-wind-farms-future-renewables/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=World Economic Forum |date=22 November 2022 |language=en}}</ref> – sometimes groups such as ] resist this<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Heather |date=2022-12-01 |title=Biden wants to launch 16 offshore wind farms. Can he? |url=https://www.eenews.net/articles/biden-wants-to-launch16-offshore-wind-farms-can-he/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=E&E News |language=en-US}}</ref> but governments say that rules protecting biodiversity will still be followed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Europe takes emergency action to remove permitting bottlenecks for wind power {{!}} REVE News of the wind sector in Spain and in the world |url=https://www.evwind.es/2022/11/08/europe-takes-emergency-action-to-remove-permitting-bottlenecks-for-wind-power/88716 |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=www.evwind.es |date=8 November 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>
However, IEA's views are not universally accepted. Between 2010 and 2016, subsidies for wind were between 1¢ and 6¢ per kWh. Subsidies for coal, natural gas, and nuclear are all between 0.05¢ and 0.2¢ per kWh overall years. On a per-kWh basis, wind is subsidized 50 times as much as traditional sources.<ref>. Forbes (30 May 2017). Retrieved on 18 August 2018.</ref>

In the United States, the wind power industry has recently increased its lobbying efforts considerably, spending about $5 million in 2009 after years of relative obscurity in Washington.<ref name="LobbyingAfter" /> By comparison, the U.S. nuclear industry alone spent over $650 million on its lobbying efforts and campaign contributions during 10 years ending in 2008.<ref name="spendingOnNuclear" /><ref>Ward, Chip. (5 March 2010) , '']''.</ref><ref>Pasternak, Judy (24 January 2010) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804205722/http://www.investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/nuclear-energy-lobbying-push/story/nuclear-energy-working-hard-win-support/ |date=4 August 2018}}, ] co-published with the ], 24 January 2010.</ref>

Following the ], Germany's federal government is working on a new plan for increasing ] and ], 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,752791,00.html |title=Will Nuke Phase-Out Make Offshore Farms Attractive? |author=Schultz, Stefan | date=23 March 2011 | website=Der Spiegel}}</ref>


=== Public opinion === === Public opinion ===
]
Surveys of public attitudes across ] and in many other countries show strong public support for wind power.<ref name="com" /><ref name="vipublic">{{cite web |url= http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/WD/WD22vi_public.pdf |title=A Summary of Opinion Surveys on Wind Power |access-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230544/http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/WD/WD22vi_public.pdf |archive-date=2 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="eon">{{cite web | url=http://eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504073200/http://eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-date=4 May 2012 |title=Public attitudes to wind farms |publisher=Eon-uk.com |date=28 February 2008 |access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> Bakker et al. (2012) found in their study that residents who did not want turbines built near them suffered significantly more stress than those who "benefited economically from wind turbines".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bakker|first1=R.H.|last2=Pedersen|first2=E|date=2012|title=Impact of wind turbine sound on annoyance, self-reported sleep disturbance and psychological distress|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=425|pages=42–51|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.03.005|pmid=22481052|bibcode=2012ScTEn.425...42B|hdl=11370/e2c2a869-d1b6-4c61-ac35-2df8596a2402|s2cid=6845478 |url=https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/6778721/Bakker_2012_Sci_Total_Environm.pdf|hdl-access=free|access-date=14 December 2019|archive-date=18 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218065746/https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/6778721/Bakker_2012_Sci_Total_Environm.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>


Although wind power is a popular form of energy generation, onshore or near offshore wind farms are sometimes opposed for their impact on the landscape (especially scenic areas, heritage areas and archaeological landscapes), as well as noise, and impact on tourism.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-24|title=Opposition to wind farm plans because of negative impact on 'tourism'|url=https://nation.cymru/news/opposition-to-wind-farm-plans-because-of-negative-impact-on-tourism/|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Nation.Cymru|language=en-GB|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116180821/https://nation.cymru/news/opposition-to-wind-farm-plans-because-of-negative-impact-on-tourism/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Schultz|first=Norm|title=Wind Farm Opposition in the Great Lakes|url=https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/columns-blogs/wind-farm-opposition-in-the-great-lakes|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Trade Only Today|date=29 June 2021 |language=en-us|archive-date=16 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116180821/https://www.tradeonlytoday.com/columns-blogs/wind-farm-opposition-in-the-great-lakes|url-status=live}}</ref>
]
Surveys of public attitudes across ] and in many other countries show strong public support for wind power.<ref name="com" /><ref name="vipublic">{{cite web |url= http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/WD/WD22vi_public.pdf |title=A Summary of Opinion Surveys on Wind Power |access-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230544/http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/publications/WD/WD22vi_public.pdf |archive-date=2 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="eon">{{cite web | url=http://eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504073200/http://eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-date=4 May 2012 |title=Public attitudes to wind farms |publisher=Eon-uk.com |date=28 February 2008 |access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref>
About 80% of EU citizens support wind power.<ref name="thefacts">{{cite web|url=http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/environment/chapter-6-social-acceptance-of-wind-energy-and-wind-farms/ |title=The Social Acceptance of Wind Energy |website=European Commission |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328073721/http://www.wind-energy-the-facts.org/en/environment/chapter-6-social-acceptance-of-wind-energy-and-wind-farms/ |archive-date=28 March 2009}}</ref>
In ], 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 electric power.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html | title = Community Power Empowers | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021002/http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html | archive-date = 25 March 2009 | publisher = Dsc.discovery.com | date = 26 May 2009 | access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://nccnsw.org.au/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=2148 | title = Community Wind Farms | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080720132956/http://nccnsw.org.au/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=2148 | archive-date = 20 July 2008}}</ref>


In other cases, there is ]. The hundreds of thousands of people who have become involved in Germany's small and medium-sized wind farms demonstrate such support there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html |title=Community Power Empowers |publisher=Dsc.discovery.com |date=26 May 2009 |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021002/http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html |archive-date=25 March 2009 }}</ref>
Bakker et al. (2012) discovered in their study that when residents did not want the turbines located by them their annoyance was significantly higher than those "that benefited economically from wind turbines the proportion of people who were rather or very annoyed was significantly lower".<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bakker|first1=R.H.|last2=Pedersen|first2=E|date=2012|title=Impact of wind turbine sound on annoyance, self-reported sleep disturbance and psychological distress|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=425|pages=42–51|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.03.005|pmid=22481052|bibcode=2012ScTEn.425...42B|hdl=11370/e2c2a869-d1b6-4c61-ac35-2df8596a2402|url=https://pure.rug.nl/ws/files/6778721/Bakker_2012_Sci_Total_Environm.pdf|hdl-access=free}}</ref>


Although wind power is a popular form of energy generation, the construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed, often for ] reasons.<ref name="mar" /><ref name="com" /><ref name="vipublic" /><ref name="eon" /><ref name="thefacts" /><ref>{{cite web | title=Carbon footprint of electricity generation | publisher=UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology | date=October 2006 | url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/post/postpn268.pdf | location=Postnote Number 268 | access-date=7 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pollingreport.com/energy.htm | title=Energy | access-date=31 October 2012}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=March 2021}} A 2010 Harris Poll found strong support for wind power in Germany, other European countries, and the United States.<ref name="com" /><ref name="vipublic" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |title=Public attitudes to wind farms |publisher=Eon-uk.com |date=28 February 2008 |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314142558/http://www.eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref>


Public support in the United States has decreased from 75% in 2020 to 62% in 2021, with the Democratic Party supporting the use of wind energy twice as much as the Republican Party.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/08/most-americans-support-expanding-solar-and-wind-energy-but-republican-support-has-dropped/ | title=Most Americans support expanding solar and wind energy, but Republican support has dropped | date=8 June 2021 }}</ref> President Biden has signed an executive order to begin building large scale wind farms.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/29/fact-sheet-biden-administration-jumpstarts-offshore-wind-energy-projects-to-create-jobs/ | title=FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Jumpstarts Offshore Wind Energy Projects to Create Jobs | newspaper=The White House | date=29 March 2021 }}</ref>
In ], 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.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cohn | first1 = Laura | last2 = Vitzhum | first2 = Carlta | last3 = Ewing | first3 = Jack | title = Wind power has a head of steam | journal = European Business | date = 11 July 2005}}</ref>
In particular, the proposal of building the biggest offshore wind power production facility in the world in southwestern Spain on the coast of ], on the spot of the 1805 ]<ref name="Engineer2003">{{cite magazine | title = Grave developments for battle site | magazine = The Engineer | page = 6 | date = 13 June 2003}}</ref> has been met with strong opposition who fear for tourism and fisheries in the area,<ref>, DiarioDeSevilla.es website, 4 June 2009 {{in lang|es}}</ref> and because the area is a war grave.<ref name="Engineer2003" />

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In a survey conducted by ] in October 2007, 89 percent of respondents said that using renewable energy sources like wind or solar power was positive for ] because these sources were better for the environment. Only 4 percent considered using renewable sources as negative since they can be unreliable and expensive.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.angus-reid.com/uppdf/ARS_Energy.pdf | title=Canadians favor energy sources that are better for the environment | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318232442/http://www.angus-reid.com/uppdf/ARS_Energy.pdf | archive-date=18 March 2009}}</ref>
According to a Saint Consulting survey in April 2007, wind power was the ] 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tscg.biz/media/releases/Saint%20Index%20Canada%202007%20Energy.pdf | title=Wind power developments are least likely to be opposed by Canadians&nbsp;– Nuclear power opposed by most | publisher=Saint Consulting | access-date=12 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013014244/http://www.tscg.biz/media/releases/Saint%20Index%20Canada%202007%20Energy.pdf | archive-date=13 October 2007 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all}}</ref>

A 2003 survey of residents living around ]'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 electric power to come from renewables, and which rated wind power as the cleanest source of renewable energy.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bwea.com/media/news/goodneighbours.html|date=25 August 2003|publisher=British Wind Energy Association | title=Wind farms make good neighbours | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215024756/http://www.bwea.com/media/news/goodneighbours.html | archive-date=15 February 2012}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11569466 | title = Rise in Scots wind farm support | work = BBC News | date = 19 October 2010}}</ref>
Regarding ], query responders consider ]s, ], ] and ]s more negatively than wind farms.<ref> pp. 14–16. '']'', 1 May 2015.</ref> Scotland is planning to obtain 100% of electric power from renewable sources by 2020.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://windenergyigert.umass.edu/sites/windenergyigert/files/OFFSHORE%20WIND%20SCOTLAND%202012.pdf | title = An investigation into the potential barriers facing the development of offshore wind energy in Scotland: Case study – Firth of Forth offshore wind farm|doi=10.1016/j.rser.2012.03.018 | year = 2012 | last1 = O’Keeffe | first1 = Aoife | last2 = Haggett | first2 = Claire | journal = Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | page = 3711}}</ref>

In other cases, there is ]. The hundreds of thousands of people who have become involved in Germany's small and medium-sized wind farms demonstrate such support there.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html |title=Community Power Empowers |publisher=Dsc.discovery.com |date=26 May 2009 |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021002/http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/community-wind-farm.html |archive-date=25 March 2009 }}</ref>

A 2010 Harris Poll reflects the strong support for wind power in Germany, other European countries, and the United States.<ref name="com" /><ref name="vipublic" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |title=Public attitudes to wind farms |publisher=Eon-uk.com |date=28 February 2008 |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314142558/http://www.eon-uk.com/generation/publicattitudes.aspx |archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|+Opinion on increase in number of wind farms, 2010 ]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/large-majorities-in-us-and-five-largest-european-countries-favor-more-wind-farms-and-subsidies-for-bio-fuels-but-opinion-is-split-on-nuclear-power-104844169.html |title=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 |author=The Harris Poll#119 |date=13 October 2010 |website=PRNewswire}}</ref>
|-
! !!U.S.!!Great <br /> Britain!!France!!Italy!!Spain!! Germany
|-
| || % || % || % || % || % || %
|-
| 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
|}


In ], Shen et al. (2019) discover that Chinese city-dwellers may be somewhat resistant to building wind turbines in urban areas, with a surprisingly high proportion of people citing an unfounded fear of radiation as driving their concerns.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shen | first1 = Shiran Victoria | last2 = Cain | first2 = Bruce E. | last3 = Hui | first3 = Iris | title = Public receptivity in China towards wind energy generators: A survey experimental approach | journal = Energy Policy | volume = 129 | pages = 619–627 | doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2019.02.055| year = 2019| s2cid = 159387276 }}</ref> The central Chinese government rather than scientists is better suited to address this concern. Also, the study finds that like their counterparts in OECD countries, urban Chinese respondents are sensitive to direct costs and wildlife externalities. Distributing relevant information about turbines to the public may alleviate resistance. In ], Shen et al. (2019) found that Chinese city-dwellers may be resistant to building wind turbines in urban areas, with a surprisingly high proportion of people citing an unfounded fear of radiation as driving their concerns.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Shen | first1 = Shiran Victoria | last2 = Cain | first2 = Bruce E. | last3 = Hui | first3 = Iris | title = Public receptivity in China towards wind energy generators: A survey experimental approach | journal = Energy Policy | volume = 129 | pages = 619–627 | doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2019.02.055| year = 2019| bibcode = 2019EnPol.129..619S | s2cid = 159387276 }}</ref> Also, the study finds that like their counterparts in OECD countries, urban Chinese respondents are sensitive to direct costs and wildlife externalities. Distributing relevant information about turbines to the public may alleviate resistance.


=== Community === === Community ===
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{{See also|Community debate about wind farms}} {{See also|Community debate about wind farms}}


], England, have been opposed for a number of reasons, including aesthetics, by some sectors of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/windfarms.htm |title=Wind Farms in Cumbria |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210060920/http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/windfarms.htm |archive-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3661728.stm | title=Wind Turbulence over turbines in Cumbria | last=Arnold |first=James | work=BBC News | date=20 September 2004}}</ref>]] ], England, have been opposed for a number of reasons, including aesthetics, by some sectors of the population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/windfarms.htm |title=Wind Farms in Cumbria |access-date=3 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210060920/http://www.visitcumbria.com/wc/windfarms.htm |archive-date=10 December 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3661728.stm | title=Wind Turbulence over turbines in Cumbria | last=Arnold | first=James | work=BBC News | date=20 September 2004 | access-date=20 March 2012 | archive-date=17 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3661728.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>]]


Many wind power companies work with local communities to reduce environmental and other concerns associated with particular wind farms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48671 |title=Group Dedicates Opening of 200 MW Big Horn Wind Farm: Farm incorporates conservation efforts that protect wildlife habitat |publisher=Renewableenergyaccess.com |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012192322/http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48671 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Jeanette | last=Fisher | date=2006 | url=http://environmentpsychology.com/wind_power_midamerican's_intrepid_wind_farm1.htm | title=Wind Power: MidAmerican's Intrepid Wind Farm | publisher=Environmentpsychology.com |access-date=20 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102223323/http://environmentpsychology.com/wind_power_midamerican's_intrepid_wind_farm1.htm | archive-date=2 November 2011 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.agl.com.au/environment/sustainability/Pages/StakeholderEngagement.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721003610/http://www.agl.com.au/environment/sustainability/Pages/StakeholderEngagement.aspx |archive-date=21 July 2008 | title=Stakeholder Engagement | publisher=Agl.com.au | date=19 March 2008}}</ref> Many wind power companies work with local communities to reduce environmental and other concerns associated with particular wind farms.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48671 |title=Group Dedicates Opening of 200 MW Big Horn Wind Farm: Farm incorporates conservation efforts that protect wildlife habitat |publisher=Renewableenergyaccess.com |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012192322/http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48671 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Jeanette | last=Fisher | date=2006 | url=http://environmentpsychology.com/wind_power_midamerican's_intrepid_wind_farm1.htm | title=Wind Power: MidAmerican's Intrepid Wind Farm | publisher=Environmentpsychology.com | access-date=20 March 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102223323/http://environmentpsychology.com/wind_power_midamerican%27s_intrepid_wind_farm1.htm | archive-date=2 November 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.agl.com.au/environment/sustainability/Pages/StakeholderEngagement.aspx | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721003610/http://www.agl.com.au/environment/sustainability/Pages/StakeholderEngagement.aspx |archive-date=21 July 2008 | title=Stakeholder Engagement | publisher=Agl.com.au | date=19 March 2008}}</ref>
In other cases there is ]. Appropriate government consultation, planning and approval procedures also help to minimize environmental risks.<ref name="com">{{cite web |url=http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/press_releases/factsheet_environment2.pdf |publisher=Renewable Energy House |title=Wind Energy and the Environment |access-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228202639/http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/press_releases/factsheet_environment2.pdf |archive-date=28 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/publications/pubs/wind-discussionpaper.pdf |title=National Code for Wind Farms |publisher=Environment.gov.au |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905112322/http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/publications/pubs/wind-discussionpaper.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC140p6a.pdf |title=New standard and big investment for wind energy |publisher=Publish.csiro.au |date=17 December 2007}}</ref> In other cases there is ]. Appropriate government consultation, planning and approval procedures also help to minimize environmental risks.<ref name="com">{{cite web |url=http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/press_releases/factsheet_environment2.pdf |publisher=Renewable Energy House |title=Wind Energy and the Environment |access-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228202639/http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/ewea_documents/documents/press_releases/factsheet_environment2.pdf |archive-date=28 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/publications/pubs/wind-discussionpaper.pdf |title=National Code for Wind Farms |publisher=Environment.gov.au |access-date=17 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905112322/http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/publications/pubs/wind-discussionpaper.pdf |archive-date=5 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC140p6a.pdf |title=New standard and big investment for wind energy |publisher=Publish.csiro.au |date=17 December 2007 |access-date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=18 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918231046/http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC140p6a.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Some may still object to wind farms<ref name="wind-watch.org" /> but, according to ], their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by ] and the opinions of the broader community.<ref>The Australia Institute (October 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225091609/http://www.tai.org.au/documents/dp_fulltext/DP91.pdf |date=25 February 2012}} Discussion Paper No. 91, {{ISSN|1322-5421}}, p. 28.</ref> Some may still object to wind farms<ref name="wind-watch.org" /> but many say their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by ],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Misinformation is derailing renewable energy projects across the United States |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1086790531/renewable-energy-projects-wind-energy-solar-energy-climate-change-misinformation |access-date=2022-09-27}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> ]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advantages and Challenges of Wind Energy |url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/advantages-and-challenges-wind-energy |access-date=2022-09-27 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}}</ref> and the opinions of the broader community.<ref>The Australia Institute (October 2006) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225091609/http://www.tai.org.au/documents/dp_fulltext/DP91.pdf |date=25 February 2012}} Discussion Paper No. 91, {{ISSN|1322-5421}}, p. 28.</ref>


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.<ref name="nine" /> In the US, wind power projects are reported to boost local tax bases, helping to pay for schools, roads, and hospitals, and to revitalize the economies of rural communities by providing steady income to farmers and other landowners.<ref name="nine" />


In the UK, both the ] and the ] have expressed concerns about the effects on the rural landscape caused by inappropriately sited wind turbines and wind farms.<ref>, ''BBC News'', 14 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/cpre_calls_for_action_over_proliferation_of_wind_turbines_1_1363291 | title = CPRE calls for action over 'proliferation' of wind turbines | last = Hill | first = Chris | date = 30 April 2012 | website = EDP 24 | publisher = Archant community Media Ltd}}</ref> In the UK, both the ] and the ] have expressed concerns about the effects on the rural landscape caused by inappropriately sited wind turbines and wind farms.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926231807/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-17367028 |date=26 September 2018 }}, ''BBC News'', 14 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/cpre_calls_for_action_over_proliferation_of_wind_turbines_1_1363291 | title = CPRE calls for action over 'proliferation' of wind turbines | last = Hill | first = Chris | date = 30 April 2012 | website = EDP 24 | publisher = Archant community Media Ltd | access-date = 30 April 2012 | archive-date = 1 May 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120501102807/http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/cpre_calls_for_action_over_proliferation_of_wind_turbines_1_1363291 | url-status = live }}</ref>


] with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground.]] ] with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground.]]
Some wind farms have become tourist attractions. The ] Visitor Centre has an exhibition room, a learning hub, a café with a viewing deck and also a shop. It is run by the ].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/visitor_centre |title = Whitelee Windfarm |website = Scottish Power Renewables |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120302104242/http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/visitor_centre |archive-date = 2 March 2012 |df = dmy-all}}</ref> Some wind farms have become tourist attractions. The ] Visitor Centre has an exhibition room, a learning hub, a café with a viewing deck and also a shop. It is run by the ].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/visitor_centre |title = Whitelee Windfarm |website = Scottish Power Renewables |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120302104242/http://www.whiteleewindfarm.co.uk/visitor_centre |archive-date = 2 March 2012 |df = dmy-all}}</ref>


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.<ref name="Danish-loss-of-value-scheme" /> 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.<ref name="Danish-loss-of-value-scheme">{{cite book | url=http://www.ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/supply/renewable-energy/wind-power/Vindturbines%20in%20DK%20eng.pdf | title=Wind Turbines in Denmark | publisher=section 6.8, p. 22, Danish Energy Agency | date=November 2009 | isbn=978-87-7844-821-7 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055825/http://www.ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/supply/renewable-energy/wind-power/Vindturbines%20in%20DK%20eng.pdf | archive-date=23 October 2013 | df=dmy-all}}</ref>


Despite this general support for the concept of wind power in the public at large, ] often exists and has delayed or aborted a number of projects.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.88117!/file/Understanding-wind-farm-opposition---Dr-Chris-Jones-PDF-674K-.pdf | title=Understanding 'local' opposition to wind development in the UK How big is a backyard? | doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2010.01.051 | year=2010 | last1=Jones | first1=Christopher R. | last2=Richard Eiser | first2=J. | journal=Energy Policy | volume=38 | issue=6 | page=3106}}</ref><ref>. Wind-works.org. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.</ref><ref>Yates, Ysabel (15 October 2012) . ecomagination.com</ref> Despite this general support for the concept of wind power in the public at large, ] often exists and has delayed or aborted a number of projects.<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.88117!/file/Understanding-wind-farm-opposition---Dr-Chris-Jones-PDF-674K-.pdf | title=Understanding 'local' opposition to wind development in the UK How big is a backyard? | doi=10.1016/j.enpol.2010.01.051 | year=2010 | last1=Jones | first1=Christopher R. | last2=Richard Eiser | first2=J. | journal=Energy Policy | volume=38 | issue=6 | page=3106 | bibcode=2010EnPol..38.3106J | access-date=14 January 2013 | archive-date=24 January 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124105605/http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.88117!/file/Understanding-wind-farm-opposition---Dr-Chris-Jones-PDF-674K-.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118101946/http://www.wind-works.org/articles/tilting.html |date=18 January 2013 }}. Wind-works.org. Retrieved on 1 October 2013.</ref><ref>Yates, Ysabel (15 October 2012) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119023610/http://www.ecomagination.com/testing-the-waters-gaining-public-support-for-offshore-wind |date=19 January 2013 }}. ecomagination.com</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rivercitymalone.com/wind-energy/town-councilor-regrets-wind-farm-high-sheldon-windfarm-ny/ |title=Town Councilor regrets High Sheldon Wind Farm (Sheldon, NY) |author1=Cramer, Glenn |date=30 October 2009 |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref> Potential broadcast-reception solutions include predictive interference modeling as a component of site selection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://broadcastwind.com/technology.html |title=Solutions for the Broadcasting and Wind Energy Industries |author=Broadcast Wind, LLC |access-date=4 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ehu.eus/tsr_radio/index.php/material-resources/40-wind-farms/56-impact-of-wind-farms/ |title=Impact of Wind Farms on Radiocommunication Services |publisher=TSR (grupo Tratamiento de Señal y Radiocomunicaciones de la UPV/EHU) |access-date=4 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923234858/http://www.ehu.eus/tsr_radio/index.php/material-resources/40-wind-farms/56-impact-of-wind-farms/ |archive-date=23 September 2015 }}</ref> As well as concerns about the landscape, there are concerns that some installations can produce excessive sound and vibration levels leading to a decrease in property values.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rivercitymalone.com/wind-energy/town-councilor-regrets-wind-farm-high-sheldon-windfarm-ny/ |title=Town Councilor regrets High Sheldon Wind Farm (Sheldon, NY) |author1=Cramer, Glenn |date=30 October 2009 |access-date=4 September 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154038/http://rivercitymalone.com/wind-energy/town-councilor-regrets-wind-farm-high-sheldon-windfarm-ny/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A study of 50,000 home sales near wind turbines found no statistical evidence that prices were affected.<ref>Ben Hoen, Jason P. Brown, Thomas Jackson, Ryan Wiser, Mark Thayer and Peter Cappers. " {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033323/http://www.nwea.nl/sites/default/files/WOZ%20-%20Spatial%20hedonic%20analysis%20on%20surrounding%20property%20values%20%28Berkely%202013%29.pdf |date=17 November 2015 }}" p. 37. '']'', August 2013. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118004839/https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/lbnl-6362e.pdf |date=18 November 2015 }}</ref>
A study of 50,000 home sales near wind turbines found no statistical evidence that prices were affected.<ref>Ben Hoen, Jason P. Brown, Thomas Jackson, Ryan Wiser, Mark Thayer and Peter Cappers. " {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033323/http://www.nwea.nl/sites/default/files/WOZ%20-%20Spatial%20hedonic%20analysis%20on%20surrounding%20property%20values%20%28Berkely%202013%29.pdf |date=17 November 2015}}" p. 37. '']'', August 2013. </ref>


While aesthetic issues are subjective and some find wind farms pleasant and optimistic, or symbols of ] and local prosperity, protest groups are often formed to attempt to block new wind power sites for various reasons.<ref name="wind-watch.org">{{cite web | url=http://www.wind-watch.org/affiliates.php | title=Wind Energy Opposition and Action Groups | publisher=Wind-watch.org | access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="guardian.co.uk" /><ref name="guardianQA" /> While aesthetic issues are subjective and some find wind farms pleasant and optimistic, or symbols of ] and local prosperity, protest groups are often formed to attempt to block some wind power stations for various reasons.<ref name="wind-watch.org">{{cite web | url=http://www.wind-watch.org/affiliates.php | title=Wind Energy Opposition and Action Groups | publisher=Wind-watch.org | access-date=11 January 2013 | archive-date=5 May 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505130436/http://www.wind-watch.org/affiliates.php | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="guardian.co.uk">Gourlay, Simon (12 August 2008) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005070554/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/aug/12/windpower.alternativeenergy |date=5 October 2013 }}, ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref name="guardianQA">Aldred, Jessica (10 December 2007) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313235603/http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/dec/10/windpower.renewableenergy |date=13 March 2016 }}, ''The Guardian''.</ref>


This type of opposition is often described as ]ism,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/article/519708 | work=Toronto Star | location=Toronto | title=Windmills vs. NIMBYism | date=20 October 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1807322/wind-industry-avoid-branding-opponents-nimbys | title=Wind industry should avoid branding opponents "Nimbys" | last=Donoghue |first=Andrew | date=30 July 2009 | website=Business Green | publisher=Business Green | access-date=13 April 2012}}</ref> Some opposition to wind farms is dismissed as ]ism,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thestar.com/comment/article/519708 | work=Toronto Star | location=Toronto | title=Windmills vs. NIMBYism | date=20 October 2008 | access-date=18 September 2017 | archive-date=11 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011113357/http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/519708 | url-status=live }}</ref> but research carried out in 2009 found that there is little evidence to support the belief that residents only object to wind farms because of a "Not in my Back Yard" attitude.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1807322/wind-industry-avoid-branding-opponents-nimbys | title=Wind industry should avoid branding opponents "Nimbys" | last=Donoghue | first=Andrew | date=30 July 2009 | website=Business Green | access-date=13 April 2012 | archive-date=2 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102085646/http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1807322/wind-industry-avoid-branding-opponents-nimbys | url-status=live }}</ref>


=== Geopolitics === === Geopolitics ===
Wind cannot be cut off unlike oil and gas so can contribute to ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-09 |title=Why onshore wind, not fracking, offers Boris Johnson a better weapon against Vladimir Putin |url=https://inews.co.uk/opinion/fracking-onshore-wind-boris-johnson-uk-weapon-against-vladimir-putin-1506705 |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=inews.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
It has been argued that expanding the use of wind power will lead to increasing geopolitical competition over critical materials for wind turbines such as rare earth elements neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium. But this perspective has been criticised for failing to recognise that most wind turbines do not use permanent magnets and for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production of these minerals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Overland|first=Indra|date=1 March 2019|title=The geopolitics of renewable energy: Debunking four emerging myths|journal=Energy Research & Social Science|volume=49|pages=36–40|doi=10.1016/j.erss.2018.10.018|issn=2214-6296|doi-access=free}}</ref>


== Turbine design == == Turbine design ==
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]s are devices that convert the wind's ] into electrical power. The result of over a millennium of ] development and modern engineering, today's wind turbines are manufactured in a wide range of horizontal axis and ] types. The smallest turbines are used for applications such as ] 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 ]. Arrays of large turbines, known as ]s, have become an increasingly important source of ] and are used in many countries as part of a strategy to reduce their reliance on ]s. ]s are devices that convert the wind's ] 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 ] 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 ].


Wind turbine design is the process of defining the form and specifications of a ] to extract energy from the ].<ref>{{cite web | publisher =UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform | title =Efficiency and performance |url=http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file17821.pdf | access-date =29 December 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090205054846/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file17821.pdf | archive-date =5 February 2009}}</ref> Wind turbine design is the process of defining the form and specifications of a wind turbine to extract energy from the wind.<ref>{{cite web | publisher =UK Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform | title =Efficiency and performance |url=http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file17821.pdf | access-date =29 December 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090205054846/http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file17821.pdf | archive-date =5 February 2009}}</ref>
A wind turbine installation consists of the necessary systems needed to capture the wind's energy, point the turbine into the wind, convert ] into ], and other systems to start, stop, and control the turbine. A wind turbine installation consists of the necessary systems needed to capture the wind's energy, point the turbine into the wind, convert ] into ], and other systems to start, stop, and control the turbine.


In 1919 the German physicist ] 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%) of the kinetic energy of the wind to be captured. This ] can be approached in modern turbine designs, which may reach 70 to 80% of the theoretical Betz limit.<ref>]; Randall, D. G. (trans.). ''Introduction to the Theory of Flow Machines'', Oxford: ], 1966.</ref><ref>Burton, Tony, et al., (ed). , ], 2001, {{ISBN|0-471-48997-2}}, p. 65.</ref> In 1919, the German physicist ] 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%) of the kinetic energy of the wind to be captured. This ] can be approached in modern turbine designs, which may reach 70 to 80% of the theoretical Betz limit.<ref>]; Randall, D. G. (trans.). ''Introduction to the Theory of Flow Machines'', Oxford: ], 1966.</ref><ref>Burton, Tony, et al., (ed). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105145500/https://books.google.com/books?id=qVjtDxyN-joC |date=5 January 2016 }}, ], 2001, {{ISBN|0-471-48997-2}}, p. 65.</ref>


The ] are not straightforward. The airflow at the blades is not the same as the airflow far away from the turbine. The very nature of how energy is extracted from the air also causes air to be deflected by the turbine. This affects the objects or other turbines downstream, which is known as Wake effect. Also, the ] 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/what-factors-affect-the-output-of-wind-turbines/ | title=What factors affect the output of wind turbines? | publisher=Alternative-energy-news.info | date=24 July 2009 | access-date=6 November 2013}}</ref> The ] are not straightforward. The airflow at the blades is not the same as the airflow far away from the turbine. The very nature of how energy is extracted from the air also causes air to be deflected by the turbine. This affects the objects or other turbines downstream, which is known as "] effect". Also, 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/what-factors-affect-the-output-of-wind-turbines/ | title=What factors affect the output of wind turbines? | publisher=Alternative-energy-news.info | date=24 July 2009 | access-date=6 November 2013 | archive-date=29 September 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929021418/http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/what-factors-affect-the-output-of-wind-turbines/ | url-status=live }}</ref>


In addition to the aerodynamic ], the design of a complete wind power system must also address the design of the installation's ], ], ], ], controls, and foundation.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Zehnder, Alan T. |author2=Warhaft, Zellman |name-list-style=amp |title=University Collaboration on Wind Energy |date=27 July 2011 |url=http://www.sustainablefuture.cornell.edu/attachments/2011-UnivWindCollaboration.pdf |publisher=Cornell University ] |access-date=22 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901005908/http://www.sustainablefuture.cornell.edu/attachments/2011-UnivWindCollaboration.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2011 }}</ref> 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, ], tower structure, generator, controls, and foundation.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Zehnder, Alan T. |author2=Warhaft, Zellman |name-list-style=amp |title=University Collaboration on Wind Energy |date=27 July 2011 |url=http://www.sustainablefuture.cornell.edu/attachments/2011-UnivWindCollaboration.pdf |publisher=Cornell University ] |access-date=22 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110901005908/http://www.sustainablefuture.cornell.edu/attachments/2011-UnivWindCollaboration.pdf |archive-date=1 September 2011 }}</ref>


== History == == History ==
{{Main|History of wind power}} {{Main|History of wind power}}
]'s windmill of 1888, used for generating electric power.]] ]'s windmill of 1888, used for generating electric power.]]{{See also|Renewable energy commercialization#Wind_power}}
Wind power has been used as long as humans have put ] into the wind. King Hammurabi's Codex (reign 1792 - 1750 BC) already mentioned windmills for generating mechanical energy.<ref>{{citation|last=B. Trueb|first=Lucien|title=Astonishing the Wild Pigs, Highlights of Technology|page=119|year=2015|publisher=ATHENA-Verlag|isbn=9783898967662}}</ref> Wind-powered machines used to grind grain and pump water, the ] and ], were developed in what is now ], ], and ] by the 9th century.<ref>], ] (1986). ''Islamic Technology: An illustrated history'', p. 54. ]. {{ISBN|0-521-42239-6}}.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Lucas|first=Adam|title=Wind, Water, Work: Ancient and Medieval Milling Technology|page=65|year=2006|publisher=Brill Publishers|isbn=90-04-14649-0}}</ref> 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 ], and in arid regions such as the ] or the ], wind pumps provided water for livestock and steam engines. Wind power has been used as long as humans have put ] into the wind. Wind-powered machines used to grind grain and pump water, the ] and ], were developed in what is now ], ], and ] by the 9th century.<ref>], ] (1986). ''Islamic Technology: An illustrated history'', p. 54. ]. {{ISBN|0-521-42239-6}}.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Lucas|first=Adam|title=Wind, Water, Work: Ancient and Medieval Milling Technology|page=65|year=2006|publisher=Brill Publishers|isbn=90-04-14649-0}}</ref> 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 ], and in arid regions such as the ] or the ], wind pumps provided water for livestock and steam engines.


The first windmill used for the production of electric power was built in ] in July 1887 by ] of ], Glasgow (the precursor of ]).<ref name="Price">{{Cite journal|last=Price|first=Trevor J|date=3 May 2005|title=James Blyth – Britain's First Modern Wind Power Engineer|journal=Wind Engineering|volume=29|issue=3|pages=191–200|doi=10.1260/030952405774354921|s2cid=110409210}}</ref> Blyth's {{convert|10|m|ft}} high, the cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage at ] in ] and was used to charge ] developed by the Frenchman ], to power the lighting in the cottage,<ref name="Price" /> thus making it the first house in the world to have its electric power supplied by wind power.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shackleton|first=Jonathan|title=World First for Scotland Gives Engineering Student a History Lesson|url=http://www.rgu.ac.uk/pressrel/BlythProject.doc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217063550/http://www.rgu.ac.uk/pressrel/BlythProject.doc|archive-date=17 December 2008|access-date=20 November 2008|publisher=The Robert Gordon University}}</ref> Blyth offered the surplus electric power to the people of Marykirk for lighting the main street, however, they turned down the offer as they thought electric power was "the work of the devil."<ref name="Price" /> Although he later built a wind turbine to supply emergency power to the local Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary, and Dispensary of ], the invention never really caught on as the technology was not considered to be economically viable.<ref name="Price" /> The first windmill used for the production of electric power was built in ] in July 1887 by ] of ], Glasgow (the precursor of ]).<ref name="Price">{{Cite journal|last=Price|first=Trevor J|date=3 May 2005|title=James Blyth – Britain's First Modern Wind Power Engineer|journal=Wind Engineering|volume=29|issue=3|pages=191–200|doi=10.1260/030952405774354921|s2cid=110409210}}</ref> Blyth's {{convert|10|m|ft}} high cloth-sailed wind turbine was installed in the garden of his holiday cottage at ] in ], and was used to charge ] developed by the Frenchman ], to power the lighting in the cottage,<ref name="Price" /> thus making it the first house in the world to have its electric power supplied by wind power.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shackleton|first=Jonathan|title=World First for Scotland Gives Engineering Student a History Lesson|url=http://www.rgu.ac.uk/pressrel/BlythProject.doc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217063550/http://www.rgu.ac.uk/pressrel/BlythProject.doc|archive-date=17 December 2008|access-date=20 November 2008|publisher=The Robert Gordon University}}</ref> Blyth offered the surplus electric power to the people of Marykirk for lighting the main street, however, they turned down the offer as they thought electric power was "the work of the devil."<ref name="Price" /> Although he later built a wind turbine to supply emergency power to the local Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary, and Dispensary of ], the invention never really caught on as the technology was not considered to be economically viable.<ref name="Price" />


Across the Atlantic, in ], a larger and heavily engineered machine was designed and constructed in the winter of 1887–1888 by ].<ref>Anon. , '']'', Vol. 63 No. 25, 20 December 1890, p. 54.</ref> This was built by his engineering company at his home and operated from 1886 until 1900.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908061207/http://www.windpower.org/en/pictures/brush.htm|date=8 September 2008}}, Danish Wind Industry Association. Accessed 2 May 2007.</ref> The Brush wind turbine had a rotor {{convert|17|m|ft}} in diameter and was mounted on an {{convert|18|m|ft}} tower. Although large by today's standards, the machine was only rated at 12&nbsp;kW. The connected dynamo was used either to charge a bank of batteries or to operate up to 100 ]s, three arc lamps, and various motors in Brush's laboratory.<ref>"History of Wind Energy" in Cutler J. Cleveland (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Energy''. Vol. 6, Elsevier, {{ISBN|978-1-60119-433-6}}, 2007, pp. 421–22</ref> Across the Atlantic, in ], a larger and heavily engineered machine was designed and constructed in the winter of 1887–1888 by ].<ref>Anon. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707215932/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mr-brushs-windmill-dynamo/ |date=7 July 2017 }}, '']'', Vol. 63 No. 25, 20 December 1890, p. 54.</ref> This was built by his engineering company at his home and operated from 1886 until 1900.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908061207/http://www.windpower.org/en/pictures/brush.htm|date=8 September 2008}}, Danish Wind Industry Association. Accessed 2 May 2007.</ref> The Brush wind turbine had a rotor {{convert|17|m|ft}} in diameter and was mounted on an {{convert|18|m|ft}} tower. Although large by today's standards, the machine was only rated at 12&nbsp;kW. The connected dynamo was used either to charge a bank of batteries or to operate up to 100 ]s, three arc lamps, and various motors in Brush's laboratory.<ref>"History of Wind Energy" in Cutler J. Cleveland (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Energy''. Vol. 6, Elsevier, {{ISBN|978-1-60119-433-6}}, 2007, pp. 421–22</ref>
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.
From 1932 many isolated properties in ] ran their lighting and electric fans from batteries, charged by a "Freelite" wind-driven generator, producing 100{{nbsp}}watts of electrical power from as little wind speed as {{convert|10|mph}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37240794 |title="Freelite" |newspaper=] |volume=11 |issue=561 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=16 December 1933 |accessdate=26 March 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>


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. The ] triggered the investigation in Denmark and the United States that led to larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electric power grids for remote use of power. By 2008, the U.S. installed capacity had reached 25.4 gigawatts, and by 2012 the installed capacity was 60 gigawatts.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of U.S. Wind Energy|url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/history-us-wind-energy|access-date=10 December 2019|website=Energy.gov|language=en}}</ref> Today, wind-powered generators operate in every size range between tiny stations for battery charging at isolated residences, up to near-gigawatt-sized ] that provide electric power to national electrical networks. The ] triggered the investigation in Denmark and the United States that led to larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electric power grids for remote use of power. By 2008, the U.S. installed capacity had reached 25.4 gigawatts, and by 2012 the installed capacity was 60 gigawatts.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of U.S. Wind Energy|url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/history-us-wind-energy|access-date=10 December 2019|website=Energy.gov|language=en|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215133631/https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/history-us-wind-energy|url-status=live}}</ref> Today, wind-powered generators operate in every size range between tiny stations for battery charging at isolated residences, up to gigawatt-sized ] that provide electric power to national electrical networks. The ] is working to augment these prospects.<ref>{{cite news |last= Widder |first= Jonathan |date= 25 October 2023|title= Saubere Energie unaufhaltsam, EU beschleunigt Windkraft-Ausbau, Luchse zurück nach Sachsen|url= https://squirrel-news.net/de/news/saubere-energie-unaufhaltsam-eu-beschleunigt-windkraft-ausbau-luchse-zurueck-nach-sachsen/|work= Squirrel News|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref>

In 2023, the global wind power sector experienced significant growth, with 116.6 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity added to the power grid, representing a 50% increase over the amount added in 2022. This surge in capacity brought the total installed wind power capacity worldwide to 1,021 GW by the end of the year, marking a growth of 13% compared to the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Alex |date=2024-04-15 |title=Global Wind Report 2024 |url=https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2024/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Global Wind Energy Council |language=en-US}}</ref>{{Rp|page=138}}


== See also == == See also ==

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== References == == References ==
{{reflist}}

{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="home-made"> ] 22 June 2008 Retrieved on 10 January 2013</ref>

<ref name="ceereCapInter"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001205145/http://www.ceere.org/rerl/about_wind/RERL_Fact_Sheet_2a_Capacity_Factor.pdf |date=1 October 2008}}. Retrieved 24 January 2008.</ref>

<ref name="MassMaritime"> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211113537/http://view2.fatspaniel.net/FST/Portal/LighthouseElectrical/maritime/HostedAdminView.html |date=11 February 2007}} This 660&nbsp;kW wind turbine has a capacity factor of about 19%.</ref>

<ref name="iesoOntarioWind"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810202450/http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/marketdata/windpower.asp |date=10 August 2014}} These wind farms have capacity factors of about 28–35%.</ref>

<ref name="Windpowering"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230537/http://www.windpoweringamerica.gov/pdfs/20_percent_wind_2.pdf |date=2 May 2013}}, 46. U.S. Department of Energy; Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy "20% Wind Energy by 2030"</ref>

<ref name="ESB2004Study">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%" {{cite web | url= http://www.eirgrid.com/EirGridPortal/uploads/Publications/Wind%20Impact%20Study%20-%20main%20report.pdf | title= Impact of Wind Power Generation in Ireland on the Operation of Conventional Plant and the Economic Implications | date= February 2004 | publisher= ESB National Grid | page= 36|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090325014258/http://www.eirgrid.com/EirGridPortal/uploads/Publications/Wind%20Impact%20Study%20-%20main%20report.pdf | archive-date=25 March 2009| access-date=23 July 2008}}</ref>

<ref name="slogin"> Published: 26 August 2008</ref>

<ref name="altamontPass">{{cite web|url=http://www.ilr.tu-berlin.de/WKA/windfarm/altcal.html |title=Wind Plants of California's Altamont Pass|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426053651/http://www.ilr.tu-berlin.de/WKA/windfarm/altcal.html|archive-date=26 April 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="green-e"> Retrieved on 20 May 2009</ref>

<ref name="LobbyingAfter">{{cite web | date=30 March 2010 | title=Solar, Wind Power Groups Becoming Prominent Washington Lobbying Forces After Years of Relative Obscurity | author=LaRussa, Cassandra | publisher=OpenSecrets.org | url=http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/03/solar-wind-power-becoming-prominent.html}}</ref>

<ref name="smallScaleCarbonTrust">{{cite web|url=http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/reports/technology/small-scale-wind-energy |title=Small-scale wind energy |publisher=Carbontrust.co.uk |access-date=29 August 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="CarbonSmallTrust">{{cite web|url=http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/reports/technology/small-scale-wind-energy|title= Smale scale wind energy|publisher=Carbontrust.com |access-date=11 April 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="ActiveFiltering">{{cite book|doi=10.1109/ICHQP.2002.1221533|title=10th International Conference on Harmonics and Quality of Power. Proceedings (Cat. No.02EX630)|chapter=Active filtering and load balancing with small wind energy systems|year=2002|last1=MacKen|first1=K.J.P.|last2=Green|first2=T.C.|last3=Belmans|first3=R.J.M.|isbn=978-0-7803-7671-7|volume=2|page=776|s2cid=114471306}}</ref>

<ref name="sinclairMerz">. BERR Publication URN 08/1021. ] (June 2008)</ref>

<ref name="clavertonReliable">{{cite web|url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/download/316/ |title=Is wind power reliable? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100605111723/http://www.claverton-energy.com/download/316/ |archive-date=5 June 2010 |access-date=29 August 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="eolica">{{cite web|title = Red Eléctrica de España {{!}} Wind produces more than 60% of the electricity consumed in Spain during the early hours of this morning|url = http://www.ree.es/en/press-office/press-release/2013/09/wind-produces-more-60-electricity-consumed-spain-during-early|website = www.ree.es|access-date = 27 July 2015}}</ref>

<ref name="abbess">{{cite web |author=Abbess, Jo |url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/wind-energy-variability-new-reports.html |title=Wind Energy Variability and Intermittency in the UK |publisher=Claverton-energy.com |date=28 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112114532/http://www.claverton-energy.com/wind-energy-variability-new-reports.html |archive-date=12 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name="eirgrid impact">{{cite web |url=http://www.eirgrid.com/media/2004%20wind%20impact%20report%20(for%20updated%202007%20report,%20see%20above).pdf |title=Impact of Wind Power Generation in Ireland on the Operation of Conventional Plant and the Economic Implications |publisher=eirgrid.com |date=February 2004 |access-date=22 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110815223334/http://www.eirgrid.com/media/2004%20wind%20impact%20report%20(for%20updated%202007%20report,%20see%20above).pdf |archive-date=15 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> -->

<ref name="ieawind">{{cite web |url = http://www.ieawind.org/AnnexXXV/Meetings/Oklahoma/IEA%20SysOp%20GWPC2006%20paper_final.pdf |title = Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power |author = Holttinen, Hannele |date = September 2006 |publisher = IEA Wind Summary Paper, Global Wind Power Conference 18–21 September 2006, Adelaide, Australia |display-authors = etal |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110726171243/http://www.ieawind.org/AnnexXXV/Meetings/Oklahoma/IEA%20SysOp%20GWPC2006%20paper_final.pdf |archive-date = 26 July 2011 |df = dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="eiadoe">{{cite web| url= http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/archive/ieo06/special_topics.html | title= International Energy Outlook |year=2006 |publisher= ] | page= 66 }}</ref>

<ref name="ccc">Committee on Climate Change (May 2011) . {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325151238/http://hmccc.s3.amazonaws.com/Renewables%20Review/MML%20final%20report%20for%20CCC%209%20may%202011.pdf |date=25 March 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="helming">Helming, Troy (2004) ''ArizonaEnergy.org''</ref>

<ref name="GWEC_Forcast">{{cite web|url=http://www.gwec.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/GWEO-2010-final.pdf |title=GWEC, Global Wind Energy Outlook 2010 |publisher=Gwec.net |access-date=14 May 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="ren212011">{{cite web |url=http://germanwatch.org/klima/gsr2011.pdf |title=Renewables 2011: Global Status Report |author=REN21 |year=2011 |page=11 |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130619200844/http://germanwatch.org/klima/gsr2011.pdf |archive-date=19 June 2013 |url-status=dead |author-link=REN21}}</ref>

<ref name="nine">American Wind Energy Association (2009) p. 11</ref>

<ref name="gwec2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.gwec.net/index.php?id=30&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=121&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=4&cHash=f9b4af1cd0 |title=Continuing boom in wind energy&nbsp;– 20 GW of new capacity in 2007 |publisher=Gwec.net |access-date=29 August 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="Danish-loss-of-value-scheme">{{cite book | url=http://www.ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/supply/renewable-energy/wind-power/Vindturbines%20in%20DK%20eng.pdf | title=Wind Turbines in Denmark | publisher=section 6.8, p. 22, Danish Energy Agency | date=November 2009 | isbn=978-87-7844-821-7 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023055825/http://www.ens.dk/sites/ens.dk/files/supply/renewable-energy/wind-power/Vindturbines%20in%20DK%20eng.pdf | archive-date=23 October 2013 | df=dmy-all}}</ref>

<ref name="btm2010o">Madsen & Krogsgaard (22 November 2010) '']''. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630030725/http://btm.dk/news/offshore%2Bwind%2Bpower%2B2010/?s=9&p=&n=39 |date=30 June 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="is windpower reliable">{{cite web | url=http://www.claverton-energy.com/is-wind-power-reliable-an-authoritative-article-from-david-millborrow-who-is-technically-experienced-and-numerate-unlike-many-other-commentators.html | title=Claverton-Energy.com | publisher=Claverton-Energy.com | access-date=29 August 2010}}</ref>

<ref name="geothermal_incentive">{{cite web |url=http://www.capitalelec.com/Energy_Efficiency/ground_source/index.html |title=Geothermal Heat Pumps |publisher=] |access-date=5 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206122801/http://www.capitalelec.com/Energy_Efficiency/ground_source/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2008 }}</ref>

<ref name="cleveland_water_crib">{{cite web |url = http://www.development.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_development/en-US/ExeSum_WindResrc_CleveWtrCribMntr_Reprt.pdf |title = Lake Erie Wind Resource Report, Cleveland Water Crib Monitoring Site, Two-Year Report Executive Summary |publisher = Green Energy Ohio |date = 10 January 2008 |access-date = 27 November 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217063550/http://www.development.cuyahogacounty.us/pdf_development/en-US/ExeSum_WindResrc_CleveWtrCribMntr_Reprt.pdf |archive-date = 17 December 2008 |url-status=dead |df = dmy-all}} This study measured up to four times as much average wind power during winter as in summer for the test site.</ref>

<ref name="combined_power_plant">{{cite web | url=http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/anlagejanuar2008_e.html | title=The Combined Power Plant: the first stage in providing 100% power from renewable energy | date=January 2008 | access-date=10 October 2008 | publisher=SolarServer | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014054221/http://www.solarserver.de/solarmagazin/anlagejanuar2008_e.html | archive-date=14 October 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="Denmark">{{Cite journal| title= Why wind power works for Denmark |journal = Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering |volume = 158 |issue = 2 |pages = 66–72 |date = May 2005 |doi = 10.1680/cien.2005.158.2.66|last1 = Sharman|first1 = Hugh}}</ref>

<ref name="Czisch-Giebel"> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701230913/http://www.risoe.dk/rispubl/reports/ris-r-1608_186-195.pdf |date=1 July 2014}} Gregor Czisch, University of Kassel, Germany and Gregor Giebel, Risø National Laboratory, Technical University of Denmark</ref>

<ref name="connecting_wind_farms">{{cite web | url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/ams-tpo112107.php | title=The power of multiples: Connecting wind farms can make a more reliable and cheaper power source | date=21 November 2007}}</ref>

<ref name="Archer2007">{{cite journal | doi = 10.1175/2007JAMC1538.1 | title = Supplying Baseload Power and Reducing Transmission Requirements by Interconnecting Wind Farms |author1=Archer, C.L. |author2=Jacobson, M.Z. | year = 2007 | journal = Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology | volume = 46 | issue = 11 | pages = 1701–117 | url = http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/aj07_jamc.pdf |bibcode = 2007JApMC..46.1701A | citeseerx = 10.1.1.475.4620}}</ref>

<ref name="BWEA">{{cite web|url=http://www.bwea.com/pdf/briefings/target-2005-small.pdf |title=BWEA report on onshore wind costs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311101709/http://www.bwea.com/pdf/briefings/target-2005-small.pdf|archive-date=11 March 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="Patel">{{cite book|url=http://www.fanarco.net/books/misc/Wind_and_power_Solar_System.pdf|title=Wind and Solar Power Systems – Design, analysis and Operation|edition=2nd |year=2006|author=Patel, Mukund R. |page=303|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8493-1570-1}}</ref>

<ref name="livestock_ignore">{{cite web |url=http://www.uintacountyherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=1299 |title=Capturing the wind |first=Erin |last=Buller |date=11 July 2008 |publisher=Uinta County Herald |access-date=4 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731090354/http://www.uintacountyherald.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=1299&page=72 |archive-date=31 July 2008 }}"The animals don't care at all. We find cows and antelope napping in the shade of the turbines."&nbsp;– Mike Cadieux, site manager, Wyoming Wind Farm</ref>

<ref name="mar">{{cite web|url=http://solarwind.net.au/Documents/WindPowersStrength.pdf |title=Why Australia needs wind power |access-date=7 January 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="Eilperin">{{cite news | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/15/AR2009041503622_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2009041602328 | title = Renewable Energy's Environmental Paradox | last = Eilperin | first= Juliet |author2=Steven Mufson | date = 16 April 2009 |work=The Washington Post | access-date=17 April 2009}}</ref>

<ref name="rspb">{{cite web | url = http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/windfarms/index.asp | title = Wind farms | publisher = ] | access-date =7 September 2008 | date = 14 September 2005}}</ref>

<ref name="guardianQA">Aldred, Jessica (10 December 2007) , ''The Guardian''.</ref>

<ref name="guardian.co.uk">Gourlay, Simon (12 August 2008) , ''The Guardian''.</ref>

<ref name=dinorwig>{{cite web|url=http://www.thegreenage.co.uk/greencommercial/hydroelectric-power/dinorwig-hydroelectric-plant |title=Dinorwig Hydroelectric Plant, Wales |publisher=Thegreenage.co.uk |access-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111224833/http://www.thegreenage.co.uk/greencommercial/hydroelectric-power/dinorwig-hydroelectric-plant |archive-date=11 January 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=futureStorage>The Future of Electrical Energy Storage: The economics and potential of new technologies 2 January 2009 ID RET2107622</ref>

<ref name=spendingOnNuclear> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127112542/http://www.ucsusa.org/news/media_alerts/nuclear-industry-spent-millions-to-sell-congress-on-new-reactors-0343.html |date=27 November 2013}}, ], 1 February 2010. In turn, citing:
* Pasternak, Judy. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804205722/http://www.investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/nuclear-energy-lobbying-push/story/nuclear-energy-working-hard-win-support/ |date=4 August 2018}}, American University School of Communication, Investigative Journalism Workshop, with McClatchy Newspapers, 24 January 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.</ref>

<ref name=salerno>Salerno, E., AWEA Director of Industry and Data Analysis, as quoted in Shahan, Z. (2011) ''CleanTechnica.com''.</ref>

<ref name=smallWindSystems>{{cite web |url=http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re/wind/smallwind.php |title=Small Wind Systems |publisher=Seco.cpa.state.tx.us |access-date=29 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023190904/http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re/wind/smallwind.php |archive-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name=windsun>Wood, Shelby (21 January 2008) . ''The Oregonian''.</ref>

<ref name=tacklingUS>
{{cite web
| url=http://ases.org/images/stories/file/ASES/climate_change.pdf
| title=Tackling Climate Change in the U.S
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081126220129/http://www.ases.org/images/stories/file/ASES/climate_change.pdf
| archive-date=26 November 2008
| publisher= American Solar Energy Society
| date=January 2007 | access-date=5 September 2007}}
</ref>

<ref name=minnesota>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.

{{cite web
| url= http://www.puc.state.mn.us/docs/windrpt_vol%201.pdf
| title= Final Report&nbsp;– 2006 Minnesota Wind Integration Study
| date= 30 November 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201192029/http://www.puc.state.mn.us/docs/windrpt_vol%201.pdf
| archive-date=1 December 2007
| publisher= The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
| access-date=15 January 2008}}</ref>

<ref name=grantham>. ]. January 2018.</ref>

<ref name=blanketpeat>{{cite web |last=Lindsay |first=Richard |date=October 2004 |title=WIND FARMS AND BLANKET PEAT The Bog Slide of 16 October 2003 at Derrybrien, Co. Galway, Ireland |publisher=The Derrybrien Development Cooperatve Ltd |url=http://www.uel.ac.uk/erg/documents/Derrybrien.pdf |access-date=20 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218090914/http://www.uel.ac.uk/erg/documents/Derrybrien.pdf |archive-date=18 December 2013}}</ref>

<ref name=capFactors>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocks.org.hk/activity2009/Capacity_factor%5B1%5D.pdf |title=Capacity factor of wind power realized values vs. estimates |date=10 April 2009 |access-date=11 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502230536/http://www.rocks.org.hk/activity2009/Capacity_factor%5B1%5D.pdf |archive-date=2 May 2013}}</ref>

}}


== External links == == External links ==


{{Commons category|Wind power}} {{Commons category|Wind power}}
* * {{official website|http://gwec.net/}} of Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)
* * from Project Regeneration
* {{official website|https://wwindea.org/}} of World Wind Energy Association (WWEA)
* from the International Energy Agency
* from the International Energy Agency
* *



Latest revision as of 09:38, 29 December 2024

Electrical power generation from wind "Wind energy" redirects here. For the academic journal, see Wind Energy (journal).

Wind farm in Xinjiang, China
Electricity production by source
Part of a series on
Sustainable energy
A car drives past 4 wind turbines in a field, with more on the horizon
Energy conservation
Renewable energy
Sustainable transport

Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.

In 2022, wind supplied over 2,304 TWh of electricity, which was 7.8% of world electricity. With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 32 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2023 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015. To help meet the Paris Agreement goals to limit climate change, analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year.

Wind power is considered a sustainable, renewable energy source, and has a much smaller impact on the environment compared to burning fossil fuels. Wind power is variable, so it needs energy storage or other dispatchable generation energy sources to attain a reliable supply of electricity. Land-based (onshore) wind farms have a greater visual impact on the landscape than most other power stations per energy produced. Wind farms sited offshore have less visual impact and have higher capacity factors, although they are generally more expensive. Offshore wind power currently has a share of about 10% of new installations.

Wind power is one of the lowest-cost electricity sources per unit of energy produced. In many locations, new onshore wind farms are cheaper than new coal or gas plants.

Regions in the higher northern and southern latitudes have the highest potential for wind power. In most regions, wind power generation is higher in nighttime, and in winter when solar power output is low. For this reason, combinations of wind and solar power are suitable in many countries.

Wind energy resources

Global map of wind speed at 100 meters on land and around coasts.
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.
Global map of wind power density potential

Wind is air movement in the Earth's atmosphere. In a unit of time, say 1 second, the volume of air that had passed an area A {\displaystyle A} is A v {\displaystyle Av} . If the air density is ρ {\displaystyle \rho } , the mass of this volume of air is M = ρ A v {\displaystyle M=\rho Av} , and the power transfer, or energy transfer per second is P = 1 2 M v 2 = 1 2 ρ A v 3 {\displaystyle P={\tfrac {1}{2}}Mv^{2}={\tfrac {1}{2}}\rho Av^{3}} . Wind power is thus proportional to the third power of the wind speed; the available power increases eightfold when the wind speed doubles. Change of wind speed by a factor of 2.1544 increases the wind power by one order of magnitude (multiply by 10).

The global wind kinetic energy averaged approximately 1.50 MJ/m over the period from 1979 to 2010, 1.31 MJ/m in the Northern Hemisphere with 1.70 MJ/m 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 the production of wind kinetic energy at a rate of 2.46 W/m thus sustaining the circulation of the atmosphere against friction.

Through wind resource assessment, it is possible to estimate wind power potential globally, by country or region, or for a specific site. The Global Wind Atlas provided by the Technical University of Denmark in partnership with the World Bank provides a global assessment of wind power potential. Unlike 'static' wind resource atlases which average estimates of wind speed and power density across multiple years, tools such as Renewables.ninja provide time-varying simulations of wind speed and power output from different wind turbine models at an hourly resolution. More detailed, site-specific assessments of wind resource potential can be obtained from specialist commercial providers, and many of the larger wind developers have in-house modeling capabilities.

The total amount of economically extractable power available from the wind is considerably more than present human power use from all sources. 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.

To assess prospective wind power sites, a probability distribution function is often fit to the observed wind speed data. 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.

Wind farms

Main articles: Wind farm and List of onshore wind farms
Large onshore wind farms
Wind farm Capacity
(MW)
Country Refs
Gansu Wind Farm 7,965  China
Muppandal Wind Farm 1,500  India
Alta (Oak Creek-Mojave) 1,320  United States
Jaisalmer Wind Park 1,064  India

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines distributed over an extended area. The land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other purposes. 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 3 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. In general, a distance of 7D (7 times the rotor diameter of the wind turbine) is set between each turbine in a fully developed wind farm. 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

Most modern turbines use variable speed generators combined with either a 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 turbines use either doubly fed electric machines with partial-scale converters or squirrel-cage induction generators or synchronous generators (both permanently and electrically excited) with full-scale converters. Black start is possible and is being further developed for places (such as Iowa) which generate most of their electricity from wind.

Transmission system operators will supply a wind farm developer with a grid code to specify the requirements for interconnection to the transmission grid. This will include the power factor, the constancy of frequency, and the dynamic behaviour of the wind farm turbines during a system fault.

Offshore wind power

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, PortugalOffshore windfarms, including floating windfarms, provide a small but growing fraction of total windfarm power generation. Such power generation capacity must grow substantially to help meet the IEA's Net Zero by 2050 pathway to combat climate change. Main articles: Offshore wind power and List of offshore wind farms

Offshore wind power is wind farms in large bodies of water, usually the sea. These installations can use the more frequent and powerful winds that are available in these locations and have less visual impact on the landscape than land-based projects. However, the construction and maintenance costs are considerably higher.

As of November 2021, the Hornsea Wind Farm in the United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 1,218 MW.

Collection and transmission network

Near offshore wind farms may be connected by AC and far offshore by HVDC.

Wind power resources are not always located near to high population density. 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 to transport large loads over large distances.

When the transmission capacity does not meet the generation capacity, wind farms are forced to produce below their full potential or stop running altogether, 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.

One of the biggest current challenges to wind power grid integration in some countries is the necessity of developing new transmission lines to carry power from wind farms, usually in remote lowly populated areas due to availability of wind, to high load locations, usually on the coasts where population density is higher. Any existing transmission lines in remote locations may not have been designed for the transport of large amounts of energy. In particular geographic regions, peak wind speeds may not coincide with peak demand for electrical power, whether offshore or onshore. A possible future option may be to interconnect widely dispersed geographic areas with an HVDC super grid.

Wind power capacity and production

Main articles: Wind power by country and Wind power industry

Growth trends

Renewable energy sources, especially solar photovoltaic and wind power, are providing an increasing share of power capacity.Wind energy generation by regionWind generation by country
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Log graph of global wind power cumulative capacity (Data:GWEC)
Number of countries with wind capacities in the gigawatt-scale by year 10 20 30 40 2005 2010 2015 2020 Growing number of wind gigawatt-markets   Above 1-GW mark
  • 2022 Croatia Kazakhstan
    2021 Russia Taiwan Vietnam
    2019 Argentina Thailand Ukraine
    2018 Pakistan Egypt
    2017 Norway
    2016 Chile Uruguay South Korea
    2015 South Africa Finland
    2012 Mexico Romania
    2011 Brazil Belgium
    2010 Austria Poland Turkey
    2009 Greece
    2008 Republic of Ireland Australia Sweden
    2006 Canada France
    2005 United Kingdom China Japan Portugal
    2004 Netherlands Italy
    1999 Spain India
    1997 Denmark
    1995 Germany
    1986 United States
  Above 10-GW mark
  • 2022 Australia
    2021 Sweden Turkey
    2018 Italy
    2016 Brazil
    2015 Canada France
    2013 United Kingdom
    2009 India
    2008 China
    2006 United States Spain
    2002 Germany
  Above 100-GW mark
  • 2019 United States
    2014 China                  

In 2020, wind supplied almost 1600 TWh of electricity, which was over 5% of worldwide electrical generation and about 2% of energy consumption. With over 100 GW added during 2020, mostly in China, global installed wind power capacity reached more than 730 GW. But to help meet the Paris Agreement's goals to limit climate change, analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year. Expansion of wind power is being hindered by fossil fuel subsidies.

The actual amount of electric power that wind can 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%.

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. Online data is available for some locations, and the capacity factor can be calculated from the yearly output.

Penetration

Share of electricity production from wind, 2023

Wind energy penetration is the fraction of energy produced by wind compared with the total generation. Wind power's share of worldwide electricity usage in 2021 was almost 7%, up from 3.5% in 2015.

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 electric power 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. 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 electric power when needed. Electrical utilities continue to study the effects of large-scale penetration of wind generation on system stability.

A wind energy penetration figure can be specified for different duration of time but is often quoted annually. To generate almost all electricity from wind annually requires substantial interconnection to other systems, for example some wind power in Scotland is sent to the rest of the British grid. 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, exported or curtailed. The 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 the production of silicon, aluminum, steel, or natural gas, and hydrogen, and using future long-term storage to facilitate 100% energy from variable renewable energy. Homes and businesses can also be programmed to vary electricity demand, for example by remotely turning up water heater thermostats.

Variability

Main article: Variable renewable energy Further information: Grid balancing
Wind turbines are typically installed in windy locations. In the image, wind power generators in Spain, near an Osborne bull.
Roscoe Wind Farm: an onshore wind farm in West Texas near Roscoe

Wind power is variable, and during low wind periods, it may need to 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 is more frequent than 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.

Electric power 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 the failure of large fossil-fuel generating units require operating reserve capacity, which can be increased to compensate for the variability of wind generation.

Utility-scale batteries are often used to balance hourly and shorter timescale variation, but car batteries may gain ground from the mid-2020s. Wind power advocates argue that periods of low wind can be dealt with by simply restarting existing power stations that have been held in readiness, or interlinking with HVDC.

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.

Seasonal cycle of capacity factors for wind and photovoltaics in Europe under idealized assumptions. The figure illustrates the balancing effects of wind and solar energy at the seasonal scale (Kaspar et al., 2019).

Solar power tends to be complementary to wind. 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. Thus the seasonal variation of wind and solar power tend to cancel each other somewhat. Wind hybrid power systems are becoming more popular.

Predictability

Main article: Wind power forecasting

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.

In summer 2021, wind power in the United Kingdom fell due to the lowest winds in seventy years, In the future, smoothing peaks by producing green hydrogen may help when wind has a larger share of generation.

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. Weather forecasting permits the electric-power network to be readied for the predictable variations in production that occur.

It is thought that the most reliable low-carbon electricity systems will include a large share of wind power.

Energy storage

Main article: Grid energy storage See also: List of energy storage projects
Energy from wind, sunlight or other renewable energy is converted to potential energy for storage in devices such as electric batteries or higher-elevation water reservoirs. The stored potential energy is later converted to electricity that is added to the power grid, even when the original energy source is not available.

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. 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. 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.

Energy payback

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. Thus, the energy payback time is typically around a year.

Economics

Onshore wind cost per kilowatt-hour between 1983 and 2017

Onshore wind is an inexpensive source of electric power, cheaper than coal plants and new gas plants. According to BusinessGreen, 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%. In 2021, the CEO of Siemens Gamesa warned that increased demand for low-cost wind turbines combined with high input costs and high costs of steel result in increased pressure on the manufacturers and decreasing profit margins.

Northern Eurasia, Canada, some parts of the United States, and Patagonia in Argentina are the best areas for onshore wind: whereas in other parts of the world solar power, or a combination of wind and solar, tend to be cheaper.

Electric power cost and trends

A turbine blade convoy passing through Edenfield in the U.K. (2008). Even longer 2-piece blades are now manufactured, and then assembled on-site to reduce difficulties in transportation.
See also: Cost of electricity by source

Wind power is capital intensive but has no fuel costs. The price of wind power is therefore much more stable than the volatile prices of fossil fuel sources. However, the estimated average cost per unit of electric power must incorporate the cost of construction of the turbine and transmission facilities, borrowed funds, return to investors (including the cost of risk), estimated annual production, and other components, averaged over the projected useful life of the equipment, which may be more than 20 years. Energy cost estimates are highly dependent on these assumptions so published cost figures can differ substantially.

The presence of wind energy, even when subsidized, can reduce costs for consumers (€5 billion/yr in Germany) by reducing the marginal price, by minimizing the use of expensive peaking power plants.

The cost has decreased 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 expenditure costs and maintenance costs have continued to decline.

In 2021, a Lazard study of unsubsidized electricity said that wind power levelized cost of electricity continues to fall but more slowly than before. The study estimated new wind-generated electricity cost from $26 to $50/MWh, compared to new gas power from $45 to $74/MWh. The median cost of fully deprecated existing coal power was $42/MWh, nuclear $29/MWh and gas $24/MWh. The study estimated offshore wind at around $83/MWh. Compound annual growth rate was 4% per year from 2016 to 2021, compared to 10% per year from 2009 to 2021.

The value of wind power

While the levelised costs of wind power may have reached that of traditional combustion based power technologies, the market value of the generated power is also lower due to the merit order effect, which implies that electricity market prices are lower in hours with substantial generation of variable renewable energy due to the low marginal costs of this technology. The effect has been identified in several European markets. For wind power plants exposed to electricity market pricing in markets with high penetration of variable renewable energy sources, profitability can be challenged.

Incentives and community benefits

Turbine prices have fallen significantly in recent years due to tougher competitive conditions such as the increased use of energy auctions, and the elimination of subsidies in many markets. As of 2021, subsidies are still often given to offshore wind. But they are generally no longer necessary for onshore wind in countries with even a very low carbon price such as China, provided there are no competing fossil fuel subsidies.

Secondary market forces provide incentives for businesses to use wind-generated power, even if there is a premium price for the electricity. For example, socially responsible manufacturers pay utility companies a premium that goes to subsidize and build new wind power infrastructure. Companies use wind-generated power, and in return, they can claim that they are undertaking strong "green" efforts. Wind projects provide local taxes, or payments in place of taxes and strengthen the economy of rural communities by providing income to farmers with wind turbines on their land.

The wind energy sector can also produce jobs during the construction and operating phase. Jobs include the manufacturing of wind turbines and the construction process, which includes transporting, installing, and then maintaining the turbines. An estimated 1.25 million people were employed in wind power in 2020.

Small-scale wind power

Main article: Small wind turbine Further information: Microgeneration
A small Quietrevolution QR5 Gorlov type vertical axis wind turbine on the roof of Bristol Beacon 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 is the name given to wind generation systems with the capacity to produce up to 50 kW of electrical power. 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 electric power for economic reasons, or to reduce their carbon footprint. Wind turbines have been used for household electric power generation in conjunction with battery storage over many decades in remote areas.

Examples of small-scale wind power projects in an urban setting can be found in New York City, where, since 2009, several 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" cannot, with some of the projects also receiving the direct support of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Grid-connected domestic wind turbines may use grid energy storage, thus replacing purchased electric power 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.

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.

Airborne wind turbines, such as kites, can be used in places at risk of hurricanes, as they can be taken down in advance.

Impact on environment and landscape

Main article: Environmental impact of wind power
Greenhouse gas emissions per energy source. Wind energy is one of the sources with the least greenhouse gas emissions.
Livestock grazing near a wind turbine.

The environmental impact of electricity generation from wind power is minor when compared to that of fossil fuel power. Wind turbines have some of the lowest life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions of energy sources: far less greenhouse gas is emitted than for the average unit of electricity, so wind power helps limit climate change. Use of engineered wood may allow carbon negative wind power. Wind power consumes no fuel, and emits no local air pollution, unlike fossil fuel power sources.

Onshore wind farms can have a significant visual impact. Due to a very low surface power density and spacing requirements, wind farms typically need to be spread over more land than other power stations. Their network of turbines, access roads, transmission lines, and substations can result in "energy sprawl"; although land between the turbines and roads can still be used for agriculture. Some wind farms are opposed for potentially spoiling protected scenic areas, archaeological landscapes and heritage sites. A report by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland concluded that wind farms harmed tourism in areas known for natural landscapes and panoramic views.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the greatest potential impacts on wildlife of onshore wind farms, but the worldwide ecological impact is minimal. Thousands of birds and bats, including rare species, have been killed by wind turbine blades, though wind turbines are responsible for far fewer bird deaths than fossil-fueled power stations when climate change effects are included. Not including these effects, modern wind turbines kill about 0.273 birds per GWh in comparison with 0.200 by coal power plants. The effects of wind turbines on birds can be mitigated with proper wildlife monitoring.

Many wind turbine blades are made of fiberglass, and have a lifetime of 20 years. Blades are hollow: some blades are crushed to reduce their volume and then landfilled. However, as they can take a lot of weight they can be made into long lasting small bridges for walkers or cyclists. Blade end-of-life is complicated, and blades manufactured in the 2020s are more likely to be designed to be completely recyclable.

Wind turbines also generate noise. At a distance of 300 metres (980 ft), this may be around 45 dB, which is slightly louder than a refrigerator. At 1.5 km (1 mi), they become inaudible. There are anecdotal reports of negative health effects on people who live very close to wind turbines. Peer-reviewed research has generally not supported these claims.

Politics

Central government

Although wind turbines with fixed bases are a mature technology and new installations are generally no longer subsidized, floating wind turbines are a relatively new technology so some governments subsidize them, for example to use deeper waters.

Fossil fuel subsidies by some governments are slowing the growth of renewables.

Permitting of wind farms can take years and some governments are trying to speed up – the wind industry says this will help limit climate change and increase energy security – sometimes groups such as fishers resist this but governments say that rules protecting biodiversity will still be followed.

Public opinion

Acceptance of wind and solar facilities in one's community is stronger among U.S. Democrats (blue), while acceptance of nuclear power plants is stronger among U.S. Republicans (red).

Surveys of public attitudes across Europe and in many other countries show strong public support for wind power. Bakker et al. (2012) found in their study that residents who did not want turbines built near them suffered significantly more stress than those who "benefited economically from wind turbines".

Although wind power is a popular form of energy generation, onshore or near offshore wind farms are sometimes opposed for their impact on the landscape (especially scenic areas, heritage areas and archaeological landscapes), as well as noise, and impact on tourism.

In other cases, there is direct community ownership of wind farms. The hundreds of thousands of people who have become involved in Germany's small and medium-sized wind farms demonstrate such support there.

A 2010 Harris Poll found strong support for wind power in Germany, other European countries, and the United States.

Public support in the United States has decreased from 75% in 2020 to 62% in 2021, with the Democratic Party supporting the use of wind energy twice as much as the Republican Party. President Biden has signed an executive order to begin building large scale wind farms.

In China, Shen et al. (2019) found that Chinese city-dwellers may be resistant to building wind turbines in urban areas, with a surprisingly high proportion of people citing an unfounded fear of radiation as driving their concerns. Also, the study finds that like their counterparts in OECD countries, urban Chinese respondents are sensitive to direct costs and wildlife externalities. Distributing relevant information about turbines to the public may alleviate resistance.

Community

See also: Community debate about wind farms
Wind turbines such as these, in Cumbria, England, have been opposed for a number of reasons, including aesthetics, by some sectors of the population.

Many wind power companies work with local communities to reduce environmental and other concerns associated with particular wind farms. In other cases there is direct community ownership of wind farm projects. Appropriate government consultation, planning and approval procedures also help to minimize environmental risks. Some may still object to wind farms but many say their concerns should be weighed against the need to address the threats posed by air pollution, climate change and the opinions of the broader community.

In the US, wind power projects are reported to boost local tax bases, helping to pay for schools, roads, and hospitals, and to revitalize the economies of rural communities by providing steady income to farmers and other landowners.

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.

A panoramic view of the United Kingdom's Whitelee Wind Farm with Lochgoin Reservoir in the foreground.

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.

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.

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. As well as concerns about the landscape, there are concerns that some installations can produce excessive sound and vibration levels leading to a decrease in property values. A study of 50,000 home sales near wind turbines found no statistical evidence that prices were affected.

While aesthetic issues are subjective and some find wind farms pleasant and optimistic, or symbols of energy independence and local prosperity, protest groups are often formed to attempt to block some wind power stations for various reasons.

Some opposition to wind farms is dismissed as NIMBYism, but research carried out in 2009 found that there is little evidence to support the belief that residents only object to wind farms because of a "Not in my Back Yard" attitude.

Geopolitics

Wind cannot be cut off unlike oil and gas so can contribute to energy security.

Turbine design

Main articles: Wind turbine and Wind turbine design See also: Wind-turbine aerodynamics
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
Typical components of a wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position

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.

Wind turbine design is the process of defining the form and specifications of a wind turbine to extract energy from the wind. 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.

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%) 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.

The aerodynamics of a wind turbine are not straightforward. The airflow at the blades is not the same as the airflow far away from the turbine. The very nature of how energy is extracted from the air also causes air to be deflected by the turbine. This affects the objects or other turbines downstream, which is known as "wake effect". Also, 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.

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.

History

Main article: History of wind power
Charles F. Brush's windmill of 1888, used for generating electric power.
See also: Renewable energy commercialization § Wind_power

Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the wind. Wind-powered machines used to grind grain and pump water, the windmill and wind pump, were developed in what is now Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan by the 9th century. 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 livestock and steam engines.

The first windmill used for the production of electric power was built in Scotland in July 1887 by Prof James Blyth of Anderson's College, Glasgow (the precursor of Strathclyde University). Blyth's 10 metres (33 ft) 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, thus making it the first house in the world to have its electric power supplied by wind power. Blyth offered the surplus electric power to the people of Marykirk for lighting the main street, however, they turned down the offer as they thought electric power was "the work of the devil." 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.

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. This was built by his engineering company at his home and operated from 1886 until 1900. The Brush wind turbine had a rotor 17 metres (56 ft) in diameter and was mounted on an 18 metres (59 ft) 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. 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. From 1932 many isolated properties in Australia ran their lighting and electric fans from batteries, charged by a "Freelite" wind-driven generator, producing 100 watts of electrical power from as little wind speed as 10 miles per hour (16 km/h).

The 1973 oil crisis triggered the investigation in Denmark and the United States that led to larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electric power grids for remote use of power. By 2008, the U.S. installed capacity had reached 25.4 gigawatts, and by 2012 the installed capacity was 60 gigawatts. Today, wind-powered generators operate in every size range between tiny stations for battery charging at isolated residences, up to gigawatt-sized offshore wind farms that provide electric power to national electrical networks. The European Union is working to augment these prospects.

In 2023, the global wind power sector experienced significant growth, with 116.6 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity added to the power grid, representing a 50% increase over the amount added in 2022. This surge in capacity brought the total installed wind power capacity worldwide to 1,021 GW by the end of the year, marking a growth of 13% compared to the previous year.

See also

Notes

  1. California is an exception

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