The Wind that Blows Around the World: International Wind Power
Wind power is a great source of alternative energy. Wind is
infinitely renewable and can be harnessed cheaply using turbines. Thus,
many nations have added wind farms to their power grids. Although these
have not yet replaced other sources of electricity, they have helped
supplement several countries’ power supplies.
Wind power is produced on wind farms. This is a group of wind turbines
set up close together to collect a significant amount of energy. Large
farms have roughly one hundred turbines in operation. These are usually
located on agricultural lands. However, some nations have started
constructing wind farms offshore to take advantage of faster winds over
water. The largest such plant is currently located in Ireland.
Over the last seven years, global use of wind power has more than
quadrupled. The countries making the most use of this energy source are
Germany, the United States, Spain, India, and China. Germany alone
accounts for one-third of the world’s total wind energy production. With
more than 18,500 plants, Germany can create more than 30.5 billion
kilowatt hours of electricity per year using nothing but the wind. This
is roughly five percent of the nation’s total electric needs.
Germany may have the most wind power for now, but the United States is
the world’s fastest-growing wind producer. Over the last year alone,
wind power in this nation has increased by more than forty-five percent.
Texas and California are the two states producing the most wind power.
By the end of 2008, the United States hopes to produce enough energy to
power 4.5 million households. However, this would only account for
roughly one percent of the nation’s total electricity usage. The U.S.
hopes to increase this figure drastically and see twenty percent of its
electrical needs met through wind power by the year 2030.
Spain ranks third for global wind power production. However, it tops
both Germany and the United States for how much of its national
electricity is produced by wind. Approximately ten percent of Spain’s
power needs are met with this resource. On a good, windy day, though,
the nation can meet as much as thirty percent of its energy needs from
wind. In fact, on April 18, 2008, Spain saw a record thirty-two percent
of its power requirement come from wind generators. The nation has set a
goal of having thirty percent of all its annual energy come from
renewable resources by the end of the decade. Approximately half of this
will come from wind.
Although the aforementioned nations product the greatest amount of wind
power, wind makes up a relatively small percentage of their total power
usage. However, in Denmark, wind power is used to meet twenty percent of
the nation’s energy needs. This is the highest percentage of any country
in the world. Denmark hopes to eventually receive half its energy from
wind. The nation also exports wind power. In fact, in 2007 this proved
to be a 4.7 billion dollar industry.
Many countries around the world continue to show interest in developing
wind power, and international collaboration in this arena is common. For
example, the World Wind Energy Conference has been hosted annually for
the last seven years. This year, more than forty countries participated
in this meeting. With more than six hundred delegates from government,
engineering, environmental, and other sectors, this conference is the
world’s biggest event for sharing ideas on wind energy.
Experts believe wind power usage will grow by more than twenty percent
each year as a result of new technologies and more governmental support.
Wind energy is a great investment for nations to make. It can cost as
little as 2 cents (USD) per day to power a household on wind.
Additionally, wind power could replace other energy solutions, which are
major sources of harmful CO2 emissions. Furthermore, wind farms also
contribute to national economies by creating new jobs in the energy
sector. In the United States alone, the wind industry is expected to
support half a million jobs by the year 2030. Thus, it is easy to see
why so many nations are becoming a part of the wind revolution. |
