2 results
30 - Wind energy
- from Part 3 - Renewable energy sources
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- By Michael Robinson, Neil Kelley, Patrick Moriarty, Scott Schreck, David Simms, Alan Wright, NREL's National Wind Technology Center, Golden, CO, USA
- Edited by David S. Ginley, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Colorado, David Cahen, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
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- Book:
- Fundamentals of Materials for Energy and Environmental Sustainability
- Published online:
- 05 June 2012
- Print publication:
- 30 November 2011, pp 396-424
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Summary
Focus
During the last 30 years, wind energy technology has emerged as the leading renewable alternative to electrical power production from fossil fuels. Commercial development and deployment, driven by lower capital costs, technical innovations, and international standards, continue to facilitate installed capacity growth at a rate of 30%–40% per year worldwide [1]. Utility-class machines exceed 2 MW, with robust designs providing 95%–98% availability. Future technology advances will focus on lowering the cost of land-based systems and evolving next-generation technology for ocean deployments in both shallow and deep water.
Synopsis
Wind energy technology is poised to play a major role in delivering carbon-free electrical power worldwide. Advanced technology and manufacturing innovations have helped the cost of wind energy drop from $0.45 per kW·h 30 years ago to $0.05–$0.06 per kW·h, thus positioning wind energy to be directly competitive with fossil-fuel power generation. In 2009, wind technology accounted for 39% of all new electrical generation in the USA [2]. Worldwide, wind deployment continues to penetrate new markets, with power-plant installations spanning months instead of years. In the European Union, cumulative wind power capacity increased by an average of 32% per year between 1995 and 2005, reaching 74,767 MW by the end of 2009 [3]. The USA leads the world in total installed capacity, while India and China are emerging as major potential markets. Wind energy can no longer be considered European-centric and has become an international alternative to fossil-fuel power generation.
Chapter 7 - Wind Energy
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- By Ryan Wiser, Zhenbin Yang, Maureen Hand, Olav Hohmeyer, David Infield, Peter H. Jensen, Vladimir Nikolaev, Mark O'Malley, Graham Sinden, Arthouros Zervos, Naïm Darghouth, Dennis Elliott, Garvin Heath, Ben Hoen, Hannele Holttinen, Jason Jonkman, Andrew Mills, Patrick Moriarty, Sara Pryor, Scott Schreck, Charles Smith, Christian Kjaer, Fatemeh Rahimzadeh
- Edited by Ottmar Edenhofer, Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, Kristin Seyboth, Susanne Kadner, Timm Zwickel, Patrick Eickemeier, Gerrit Hansen, Steffen Schlömer, Christoph von Stechow, Patrick Matschoss
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- Book:
- Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
- Published online:
- 05 December 2011
- Print publication:
- 21 November 2011, pp 535-608
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Summary
Executive Summary
Wind energy offers significant potential for near-term (2020) and long-term (2050) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. A number of different wind energy technologies are available across a range of applications, but the primary use of wind energy of relevance to climate change mitigation is to generate electricity from larger, grid-connected wind turbines, deployed either on- or offshore. Focusing on these technologies, the wind power capacity installed by the end of 2009 was capable of meeting roughly 1.8% of worldwide electricity demand, and that contribution could grow to in excess of 20% by 2050 if ambitious efforts are made to reduce GHG emissions and to address the other impediments to increased wind energy deployment. Onshore wind energy is already being deployed at a rapid pace in many countries, and no insurmountable technical barriers exist that preclude increased levels of wind energy penetration into electricity supply systems. Moreover, though average wind speeds vary considerably by location, ample technical potential exists in most regions of the world to enable significant wind energy deployment. In some areas with good wind resources, the cost of wind energy is already competitive with current energy market prices, even without considering relative environmental impacts. Nonetheless, in most regions of the world, policy measures are still required to ensure rapid deployment. Continued advances in on- and offshore wind energy technology are expected, however, further reducing the cost of wind energy and improving wind energy's GHG emissions reduction potential.