Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
Hybrid power are combinations between different technologies to produce power.
Woolnorth Wind Farm is a wind power complex, comprising two wind farms — Bluff Point and Studland Bay. They are located at the Woolnorth property at Woolnorth, in the far north-west of Tasmania, Australia. Both wind farms are operated by Woolnorth Wind Farm Holdings, a joint venture between Hydro Tasmania and Shenhua Group.
Wind power, derived from wind turbines, plays a crucial role in Australia’s energy sector. As of October 2023, the nation has an installed wind capacity of around 9,100 megawatts (MW), making wind power a key component of Australia's energy landscape. It accounts for approximately 5% of the country's total primary energy supply and 35% of its renewable energy supply. Australia's geographical features, including its southern regions and the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, are particularly conducive to wind energy development. Notably, nearly half of Australia's wind farms are situated in coastal areas.
The production of renewable energy in Scotland is a topic that came to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European, and even global standards, with the most important potential sources being wind, wave, and tide. Renewables generate almost all of Scotland's electricity, mostly from the country's wind power.
Wind power became a significant energy source within South Australia over the first two decades of the 21st century. In 2015, there was an installed capacity of 1,475 MW, which accounted for 34% of electricity production in the state. This accounted for 35% of Australia's installed wind power capacity. In 2021, there was an installed capacity of 2052.95 MW, which accounted for 42.1% of the electricity production in the state in 2020.
Renewable energy in Australia is mainly based on biomass, solar, wind, and hydro generation. Over a third of electricity is generated from renewables, and is increasing, with a target to phase out coal power before 2040. Wind energy and rooftop solar have particularly grown since 2010. The growth has been stimulated by government energy policy in order to limit the rate of climate change in Australia that has been brought about by the use of fossil fuels. Pros and cons of various types of renewable energy are being investigated, and more recently there have been trials of green hydrogen and wave power.
Denmark was a pioneer in developing commercial wind power during the 1970s, and today a substantial share of the wind turbines around the world are produced by Danish manufacturers such as Vestas—the world's largest wind-turbine manufacturer—along with many component suppliers. Furthermore, Denmark has—as of 2022—the 2nd highest amount in the world of wind power generation capacity installed per capita, behind only neighboring Sweden.
Wind power has a history in Canada dating back many decades, particularly on prairie farms. As of December 2021, wind power generating capacity was approximately 14,304 megawatts (MW). Combined with 2,399 MW of solar power generating capacity, this provided about 6.5% of Canada's electricity demand as of 2020. The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has outlined a future strategy for wind energy that would reach a capacity of 55 GW by 2025, meeting 20% of the country's energy needs.
Wind power is the fastest-growing renewable energy technology in Scotland, with 11,482 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power capacity by Q1 2023. This included 9,316 MW from onshore wind in Scotland and 2,166 MW of offshore wind generators.
Musselroe Wind Farm is a wind farm at Cape Portland, Tasmania, Australia. It was the third wind farm built in the state, following the Bluff Point and Studland Bay Wind Farms.
Policy makers often debate the constraints and opportunities of renewable energy.
Variable renewable energy (VRE) or intermittent renewable energy sources (IRES) are renewable energy sources that are not dispatchable due to their fluctuating nature, such as wind power and solar power, as opposed to controllable renewable energy sources, such as dammed hydroelectricity or bioenergy, or relatively constant sources, such as geothermal power.
Renewable energy in Taiwan contributed to 8.7% of national electricity generation as of end of 2013. The total installed capacity of renewable energy in Taiwan by the end of 2013 was 3.76 GW.
The electricity sector in Australia has been historically dominated by coal-fired power stations, but renewables are forming a rapidly growing fraction of supply. In 2021, Australia's electricity production reached 265 TWh, with coal accounting for 52.9% and natural gas for 18.8%. Renewable sources, comprising solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy with waste, collectively made up 26.7% of the total electricity generation mix.
Energy in the Faroe Islands is produced primarily from imported fossil fuels, with further contributions from hydro and wind power. Oil products are the main energy source, mainly consumed by fishing vessels and sea transport. Electricity is produced by oil, hydropower and wind farms, mainly by SEV, which is owned by all the municipalities of the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands are not connected by power lines with continental Europe, and thus the archipelago cannot import or export electricity.
ACEN Corporation, formerly AC Energy, is the energy firm under the Ayala Group. The company has over 4,000 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia, with a renewable share of 98% which is among the highest in the region.
Tasmania, as an advanced economy with a globally high standard of living, uses a great deal of energy. Distinctive features of energy use in Tasmania include the high fraction of hydroelectricity usage, the absence of coal-fired electrical generation, relatively light usage of natural gas, particularly for domestic use, and a wide use of domestic wood-burning stoves. Energy production through hydroelectricity has been politically contentious, and conflicts over Tasmanian hydroelectric projects were integral to the formation of Green parties in Australia and across the world.
Romblon Wind Farm is a wind farm in Romblon, Romblon, Philippines. The wind farm uses three units of 41.5-meter (136 ft) high Komaihaltec KWT300 wind turbines erected on the hills of Barangays Agnay, Bagacay and Lonos in Romblon, Romblon. The wind farm is a project of Romblon Electric Cooperative (ROMELCO) and was made possible through a funding grant from Japanese companies Komaihaltec Inc. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. The wind turbines were erected in 2018 and began operation in 2019. Under the contract between ROMELCO, Komaihaltec Inc., and Honda Motor Co. Ltd., the wind farm will be turned over to ROMELCO in 2023 after a four-year demonstration period.
In 2019, Wales generated 27% of its electricity consumption as renewable electricity, an increase from 19% in 2014. The Welsh Government set a target of 70% by 2030. In 2019, Wales was a net exporter of electricity. It produced 27.9 TWh of electricity while only consuming 14.7 TWh. The natural resource base for renewable energy is high by European standards, with the core sources being wind, wave, and tidal. Wales has a long history of renewable energy: in the 1880s, the first house in Wales with electric lighting powered from its own hydro-electric power station was in Plas Tan y Bwlch, Gwynedd. In 1963, the Ffestiniog Power Station was constructed, providing a large scale generation of hydroelectricity, and in November 1973, the Centre for Alternative Technology was opened in Machynlleth.
