Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships.
At the end of 2010, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 197 gigawatts (GW).
Energy production was 430 TWh, which is about 2.5% of worldwide electricity usage; and has doubled in the past three years. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 18% in Portugal,16% in Spain, 14% in Ireland and 9% in Germany in 2010.As of 2011, 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network; smaller facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. The construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed because of their visual impact, but any effects on the environment from wind power are generally less problematic than those of any other power source.
The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand, but as the proportion rises, increased costs, a need to upgrade the grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production may occur. Power management techniques such as exporting and importing power to neighboring areas or reducing demand when wind production is low, can mitigate these problems.
Electricity generation
n a wind farm, individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage (often 34.5 kV), power collection system and communications network. At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a transformer for connection to the high voltage electric power transmission system.
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
At the end of 2010, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 197 gigawatts (GW).
Energy production was 430 TWh, which is about 2.5% of worldwide electricity usage; and has doubled in the past three years. Several countries have achieved relatively high levels of wind power penetration, such as 21% of stationary electricity production in Denmark, 18% in Portugal,16% in Spain, 14% in Ireland and 9% in Germany in 2010.As of 2011, 83 countries around the world are using wind power on a commercial basis.
Large-scale wind farms are connected to the electric power transmission network; smaller facilities are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy, as an alternative to fossil fuels, is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions during operation. The construction of wind farms is not universally welcomed because of their visual impact, but any effects on the environment from wind power are generally less problematic than those of any other power source.
The intermittency of wind seldom creates problems when using wind power to supply a low proportion of total demand, but as the proportion rises, increased costs, a need to upgrade the grid, and a lowered ability to supplant conventional production may occur. Power management techniques such as exporting and importing power to neighboring areas or reducing demand when wind production is low, can mitigate these problems.
Electricity generation
n a wind farm, individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage (often 34.5 kV), power collection system and communications network. At a substation, this medium-voltage electric current is increased in voltage with a transformer for connection to the high voltage electric power transmission system.
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
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Photo of Working and Operation of a Wind Turbine
Photo of Internal Function of a Wind Turbine
Wind Power