Introduction

World wind energy capacity has been doubling every three years during the last decade and growth rates in the last two years have been even faster, as shown in Figure 13.1. It is doubtful whether any other energy technology is growing, or has grown, at such a rate. Total world wind capacity at the end of 2000 was around 17 500 MW and generation from wind now approximately equates to annual consumption of electricity in Chile or Singapore. Germany, with over 6 000 MW, has the highest capacity but Denmark, with over 2 000 MW, has the highest level per capita and the production accounts for about 12% of Danish electricity.

Figure 13.1: Growth of world wind capacity

The attractions of wind as a source of electricity which produces minimal quantities of greenhouse gases has led to ambitious targets for wind energy in many parts of the world. More recently, there have been several developments of offshore wind installations and many more are planned. Although offshore wind-generated electricity is generally more expensive than onshore, the resource is very large and there are few environmental impacts.

Whilst wind energy is generally developed in the industrialised world for environmental reasons, it has attractions in the developing world as it can be installed quickly in areas where electricity is urgently needed. In many instances it may be a cost-effective solution if fossil fuel sources are not readily available. In addition there are many applications for wind energy in remote regions, worldwide, either for supplementing diesel power (which tends to be expensive) or for supplying farms, homes and other installations on an individual basis.

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