Skip to content

Renewable Energy

Wind and its place in electricity generation.

by JW Dowey 21 Nov 2014
Wind and its place in electricity generation.

The ancient windmills give some clue as to when windpower can be utilised to form a major contribution to a nation’s electricity supply. Romania here provides a lovely example of old tech. promising much for new enterprise; Windmill image; Credit: © Shutterstock

Wind is neglected to some extent when discussions of the renewable potential of solar energy take place. Whether you paint the turbine blades purple or argue about the aesthetics of some view, the newsworthiness of wind power is undoubted. How popular this form of renewable energy is depends upon your location. Finance is unavailable over whole continents, while the climate determines just how much energy is available to your turbines. Cleantechnica give regular updates on all the renewables’ facts and figures, so it is about time we gave them a plug !

The reliable organisation and its contributors have total figures only for 2011 at the moment, but more up-to-date news is also available on their site. Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Germany and Ireland have the most wind power per head of population. The US and Canada, with Eastern European countries catching up, are well behind these leaders, while Pakistan and Vietnam tend to be among the lowest per capita windies. From 2 nations with only 30MW of wind power to the 60,000 and 75,000MW of the US and China, there is a real story of progress and regression, as Sweden, Romania, Germany, and the US play catch up and Pakistan and India begin a slow revival.

It’s partly geographical, of course. The western coasts of the northern continents are plastered with turbines, with their penchant for storms and winds well known to ancient sailors. Romania kicks the trend with quite a resource in wind, despite its central location. Dobruja is its wind capital, with ancient windmills joining in the bonanza from the north-easterlies off the Black Sea.

Tax credits play a large part in development, just as in solar power. The benefits to governments spending their tax money is the clean energy and the likely continuance of this form of energy production as compared to fossil fuels. Denmark has at least 30% of its electricity derived from wind, reaching the half-way point by 2020. Like Romania, it has one of the European wind sources that every country wishes for. Austria is another European now benefitting from its Alpine weather by investing more strongly in wind.

Canada and the US presently show as the only non-Eurasians exploiting wind. South America and Africa could well have some investment soon, but with the current lack of export capability, international cooperation is limited. Solar power certainly has the political lead in the nations here, but newer technology is always knocking on the door with renewable energy. We can expect even tidal power to become available widely when these engineers reveal their developed plans for your average tidal stream.

The 60,000MW of US wind-powered capacity, around 2012 is revealed here, along with an account of the industry’s development there.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping