Farming and ranching of vast areas in North America have been made
possible through the development of windmill power to draw water from
the ground. Without windmills supplying water to train stations, the
American railway transport system would not have flourished and spurred
economic growth across the continent.
Today, the increased concern on the effects of climate change has revitalized interest on the use of windmill power like those experienced in the early development of America. There is now a groundswell of efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels which has been exacerbating the global warming trend.
Use of wind power, which accounts at present for about 1.5% of the world's electricity needs, is growing rapidly. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2008, wind-generated electric power have doubled.
High levels of wind power growth have been reported in several countries. In Denmark, power by windmill was said to have contributed 19% to that country's electricity production. Spain and Portugal both achieved 11% , while Germany and Ireland had 7%. At last count in May 2009, it was reported that wind power is being used commercially in 80 countries around the world.
Most of these gains have been made possible through the large-scale wind farms that are typically linked to the local electric power transmission network. Smaller turbines are also utilized to supply electricity to isolated locations. At the same time, the big power companies are increasingly buying back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines.
Windmill power is attractive as a fossil fuel alternative because its energy source - the wind- is renewable, plentiful, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, wind energy production cost has been considerably reduced and is steadily going down. In 2004, it was estimated that generating power from windmills cost only a fifth of the generation price in the 1980s. The mass production of larger multi-megawatt turbines should lead to further cost reduction and make windmill power the energy of the future.
Today, the increased concern on the effects of climate change has revitalized interest on the use of windmill power like those experienced in the early development of America. There is now a groundswell of efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels which has been exacerbating the global warming trend.
Use of wind power, which accounts at present for about 1.5% of the world's electricity needs, is growing rapidly. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2008, wind-generated electric power have doubled.
High levels of wind power growth have been reported in several countries. In Denmark, power by windmill was said to have contributed 19% to that country's electricity production. Spain and Portugal both achieved 11% , while Germany and Ireland had 7%. At last count in May 2009, it was reported that wind power is being used commercially in 80 countries around the world.
Most of these gains have been made possible through the large-scale wind farms that are typically linked to the local electric power transmission network. Smaller turbines are also utilized to supply electricity to isolated locations. At the same time, the big power companies are increasingly buying back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines.
Windmill power is attractive as a fossil fuel alternative because its energy source - the wind- is renewable, plentiful, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, wind energy production cost has been considerably reduced and is steadily going down. In 2004, it was estimated that generating power from windmills cost only a fifth of the generation price in the 1980s. The mass production of larger multi-megawatt turbines should lead to further cost reduction and make windmill power the energy of the future.
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