Wind Power

International Wind Energy Companies

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Learn More about Wind Energy

Wind is caused by the uneven heating of the atmosphere by the sun, variations in the earth's surface, and rotation of the earth. Mountains, bodies of water, and vegetation all influence wind flow patterns^[1], ^[2]. Wind turbines convert the energy in wind to electricity by rotating propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor turns the drive shaft, which turns an electric generator. Three key factors affect the amount of energy a turbine can harness from the wind: wind speed, air density, and swept area.^[3]

Spacing guidelines for wind turbines

Wind Decision Support Tools

In My Backyard (IMBY) estimates the electricity you can produce with a solar photovoltaic (PV) array or wind turbine at your home or business.

Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) is a PC program for predicting wind resources and power productions from wind turbines and farms.

Equation for Wind Power

$P = {1\over2} \rho A V^3$

Wind speed

The amount of energy in the wind varies with the cube of the wind speed, in other words, if the wind speed doubles, there is eight times more energy in the wind ( $2^3 = 2 x 2 x 2 = 8$ ). Small changes in wind speed have a large impact on the amount of power available in the wind ^[4].

Density of the air

The more dense the air, the more energy received by the turbine. Air density varies with elevation and temperature. Air is less dense at higher elevations than at sea level, and warm air is less dense than cold air. All else being equal, turbines will produce more power at lower elevations and in locations with cooler average temperatures^[4].

Swept area of the turbine

The larger the swept area (the size of the area through which the rotor spins), the more power the turbine can capture from the wind. Since swept area is $A = pi r^2$ , where r = radius of the rotor, a small increase in blade length results in a larger increase in the power available to the turbine^[5].

Development Resources

Wind Project Development Process - This document, which was originally developed in 1998 for NREL by Distributed Generation Systems, Inc., is a very visual; it provides a series of 12 flow diagrams outlining the key steps in the development of a wind project, such as wind assessment, interconnection studies, and construction contracting. There is no additional text to supplement the flow charts.

Landowner Frequently Asked Questions and Answers This four page document provides answers to 20 questions a landowner might ask about wind project development, ranging from How much wind is needed? to Will my property taxes increase?

10 Steps to Developing a Wind Farm This two page document, published in March 2009, provides brief descriptions of 10 key factors a landowner might consider before developing a wind farm on their property. The topics range from How far is your site from existing transmission lines? to Secure an agreement to meet O&M needs.

Permitting of Wind Energy Facilities This 50-page handbook was developed to provide stakeholders (e.g. government agency

What's New

OpenEI has a Map of Wind Farms, which displays a comprehensive list of wind farms, seeded with United States data with plans to expand internationally.

OpenEI uploaded research and data on International Wind Resource Potential

Wind Energy Licensing Opportunities

Visit the OpenEI EERE Tech Portal page for list of all licensing opportunities

Wind Power

Wind power is a form of solar energy.^[6] Wind energy (or wind power) describes the process by which wind is used to generate electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. A generator can convert mechanical power into electricity^[1]. Mechanical power can also be utilized directly for specific tasks such as pumping water.

Wind Powering America

OpenEI now hosts the Small Wind Guidebook on its platform.

Wind Incentives & Policies

* Wind Energy Incentives - This list of incentives can be sorted by state or incentive type. The information is provided by DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency) and augmented with community input from OpenEI.

Natural Resources

OpenEI has a variety of resource potential maps. This map shows the wind resource potential in the United States at 80 meters. To browse international resource potential maps, please visit OpenEI search.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 "US DOE EERE: Wind Program: How Wind Turbines Work"
↑ "Danish Wind Industry Association Where does Wind Energy come From"
↑ "Danish Wind Industry Association The Energy in the Wind"
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Gipe, Paul. (2009).Wind Energy Basics. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-60358-030-4
↑ "Wind Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement: Wind Energy Basics"
↑ "AWEA Website Wind Energy Basics"

[eere-wind-how-1] 1.0 ^1.1 "US DOE EERE: Wind Program: How Wind Turbines Work"

[windpower-whence-2] "Danish Wind Industry Association Where does Wind Energy come From"

[windpower-energy-3] "Danish Wind Industry Association The Energy in the Wind"

[gipe.book.1-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Gipe, Paul. (2009).Wind Energy Basics. Chelsea Green Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-60358-030-4

[anl-basics-5] "Wind Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement: Wind Energy Basics"

[awea-basics-6] "AWEA Website Wind Energy Basics"

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