Wind power' is a major source of energy in Portugal. At the end of 2020, wind power capacity in Continental Portugal was 5,456 MW. [1] In 2020, wind power represented 23.7% of total electricity generation. [2]
The record of wind power generation was achieved on November 22, 2019 with 103.1 GWh produced [3]
| Year [4] | MW |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 100 |
| 2001 | 131 |
| 2002 | 195 |
| 2003 | 296 |
| 2004 | 522 |
| 2005 | 1,022 |
| 2006 | 1,590 |
| 2007 | 2,413 |
| 2008 | 3,187 |
| 2009 | 3,590 |
| 2010 | 4,038 |
| 2011 | 4,379 |
| 2012 | 4,525 |
| 2013 | 4,724 |
| 2014 | 4,922 |
| 2015 | 4,922 |
| 2016 | 5,033 |
| 2017 | 5,313 |
| 2018 | 5,368 |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | 5,456 |
| 2021 | 5,628 |
In 1995 the law in Portugal was changed to permit wind energy to access the electricity grid. A 1999 change to the feed in tariff encouraged development, the tariff has been changed several times since then. [4]
In 2013, Portugal installed 196 MW of wind power. [5] In 2015, the MW of wind power didn't change in comparison with 2014, remaining at 4922,88 MW. [6]
At the end of 2020, wind power capacity in Continental Portugal was 5,456 MW. [1]
| Rank | District | 2008 [7] | 2009 [8] | 2013 [9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Viseu | 635.3 | 651.3 | 934.5 |
| 2 | Coimbra | 302.8 | 449.8 | 599.5 |
| 3 | Vila Real | 156.7 | 270.7 | 589.9 |
| 4 | Castelo Branco | 386.5 | 430.5 | 462.1 |
| 5 | Lisboa | 273.9 | 313.5 | 358.6 |
| 6 | Viana do Castelo | 308.8 | 356.0 | 342.6 |
| 7 | Guarda | 115.3 | 162.5 | 343.0 |
| 8 | Leiria | 172.9 | 252.3 | 272.6 |
| 9 | Faro | 75.0 | 135.0 | 209.2 |
| 10 | Braga | 121.0 | 147.9 | 148.3 |
| 11 | Santarém | 103.9 | 103.9 | 125.9 |
| 12 | Porto | 73.7 | 80.0 | 79.1 |
| 13 | Bragança | 14.0 | 74.0 | 74.0 |
| 14 | Beja | 10.0 | 26.0 | 50.0 |
| 15 | Madeira | 8.7 | 26.6 | 46.2 |
| 16 | Aveiro | 42.1 | 42.1 | 42.1 |
| 17 | Açores | 11.6 | 11.6 | 32.4 |
| 18 | Setúbal | 18.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 |
| 19 | Évora | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 20 | Portalegre | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Portugal total (MW) | 2832 | 3535 [10] | 4731 [9] |
Most of the Portuguese wind capacity is located in the north-northeast distritos. Viseu is the distrito with the largest installed capacity, followed by Coimbra, Vila Real and Castelo Branco.
The 240 MW Alto Minho Wind Farm in the Viana do Castelo district became fully operational in November, 2008 when Portugal's Economy Minister Manuel Pinho inaugurated it. [11] At the time of completion it was Europe's largest on-shore wind farm. [12] The wind farm began generating electricity in 2007, with production increasing as more wind turbines came online, reflecting the modular nature of wind farms. The wind farm consists of 68 Enercon E-82 2MW wind turbines and 52 Enercon E-70 E4 2MW turbines, totaling 136 MW and 104 MW, respectively. [13] The wind farm will produce 552 GWh annually, avoiding 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. [11]
Other major wind farms include: Arada-Montemuro Wind Farm (112 MW), Gardunha Wind Farm (106 MW), Pinhal Interior Wind Farm (144 MW), Ventominho Wind Farm (240 MW).
Other wind farms include: The Pampilhosa Wind Farm (114 MW) that uses Vestas V90 turbines; [14] The Caramulo Wind Farm with a capacity of 90 MW, using Enercon E-70 E4 and E82/2000 turbines; [15] and the Candeeiros Wind Farm with a capacity of 111 MW, using Vestas V90 turbines. [16]
As of 2023 there were no commercial offshore wind parks in operation although interest had been shown by a number of companies to develop the industry. The first offshore wind auction is scheduled for 2024. [17]
Portugal has 2 MW of experimental offshore capacity [9] in the floating wind turbine WindFloat near the Aguçadoura Wave Farm in Póvoa de Varzim. It achieved successful testing, and it was transferred to Viana do Castelo in 2016 with planned expansion and renamed Windfloat Atlantic, and the Póvoa de Varzim site will foster a new technology. [18]
The United Kingdom is the best location for wind power in Europe and one of the best in the world. The combination of long coastline, shallow water and strong winds make offshore wind unusually effective.
The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 7 miles (11 km) off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780–900 million (US$1.2–1.4 billion). Thanet is one of fifteen Round 2 wind projects announced by the Crown Estate in January 2004 but the first to be developed. It was officially opened on 23 September 2010, when it overtook Horns Rev 2 as the biggest offshore wind farm in the world. It has since been overtaken by many others.
Spain is one of the countries with the largest wind power capacity installed, with over 27 GW in 2020.
Wind power in Germany is a growing industry. The installed capacity was 55.6 gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2017, with 5.2 GW from offshore installations. In 2020, 23.3% of the country's total electricity was generated through wind power, up from 6.2% in 2010 and 1.6% in 2000.
Wind power in California had initiative and early development during Governor Jerry Brown's first two terms in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The state's wind power capacity has grown by nearly 350% since 2001, when it was less than 1,700 MW. In 2016, wind energy supplied about 6.9% of California's total electricity needs, or enough to power more than 1.3 million households. Most of California's wind generation is found in the Tehachapi area of Kern County, California, with some large projects in Solano, Contra Costa and Riverside counties as well. California is among the states with the largest amount of installed wind power capacity. In recent years, California has lagged behind other states when it comes to the installation of wind power. It was ranked 4th overall for wind power electrical generation at the end of 2016 behind Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma. As of 2019, California had 5,973 megawatts (MW) of wind power generating capacity installed.
The Alto Minho Wind Farm in the Viana do Castelo district, of Portugal, became fully operational in November 2008, when Portugal's Economy Minister Manuel Pinho inaugurated it. At the time of completion, it was Europe's largest on-shore wind farm. The wind farm began generating electricity in 2007, with production increasing as more wind turbines came online, reflecting the modular nature of wind farms. The wind farm consists of 68 Enercon E-82 2MW wind turbines and 52 Enercon E-70 E4 2MW turbines, totaling 136 MW and 104 MW, respectively, for a grand total of 240 MW of nameplate capacity. The wind farm will produce 530 GWh annually, avoiding 370,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
Renewable energy in the United Kingdom contributes to production for electricity, heat, and transport.
China is the world leader in wind power generation, with the largest installed capacity of any nation and continued rapid growth in new wind facilities. With its large land mass and long coastline, China has exceptional wind power resources: Wind power remained China's third-largest source of electricity at the end of 2021, accounting for 7.5% of total power generation.
Volkswind GmbH is one of the largest operators of wind farms in Germany. The company was founded in 1993 by Martin Daubner and Matthias Stommel, former Enercon employees. The company's headquarters is in Ganderkesee, Germany, and has worldwide subsidiaries in France, England, Poland, Bulgaria and the US.
Wind power in Italy, at the end of 2015, consisted of more than 1,847 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 8,958 megawatts. Wind power contributed 5.4% of Italy electricity generation in 2015 (14,589 GWh). Italy is ranked as the world's tenth producer of wind power as of the end of 2016. Prospects for Italian wind energy beyond 2020 were positive, with several projects planned to go live before 2030.
Wind power in Belgium depends partially on regional governments and partially on the Belgian federal government. Wind energy producers in both the Flemish and Walloon regions get green certificates but not with the same conditions.
As of November 2023, wind power in the Netherlands has an installed capacity of 11,602 MW, 40.9% of which is based offshore. In 2022, the wind turbines provided the country with 18.37% of its electricity demand during the year. Windmills have historically played a major part in the Netherlands by providing an alternative to water driven mills.
Milton Keynes wind farm is located 2 miles east of Emberton in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK. It was developed by Your Energy and is owned by Mistral Windfarms. The wind farm comprises seven turbines 125 m to the blade tip, and has a total installed capacity of 14 MW. They were expected to produce approximately 38 GWh of electricity per year.
Wind power in Indiana was limited to a few small water-pumping windmills on farms until 2008 with construction of Indiana's first utility-scale wind power facility, Goodland with a nameplate capacity of 130 MW. As of September 2017, Indiana had a total of 1897 MW of wind power capacity installed, ranking it 12th among U.S. states. Wind power was responsible for 4.8% of in-state electricity production in 2016.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to wind energy:
Soma Wind Farm is an onshore wind power plant in Soma in Manisa Province in the northwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. Built in two phases and consisting of 119 wind turbines with an installed output power of 140 MW in total, it is one of Turkey's largest wind farms.
Wind power in Hawaii has the potential to provide all of the electricity generation in the electricity sector in Hawaii. The 132 commercial wind turbines in the state have a total capacity of 236 MW. In 2015, wind turbines produced 6.4% of Hawaii's electricity. In 2012, Hawaii generated 367 million kWh from wind 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.
Wind power is a major industry in Taiwan. Taiwan has abundant wind resources however a lack of space on land means that most major developments are offshore. As of February 2020, there were 361 installed onshore turbines and 22 offshore turbines in operation with the total installed capacity of 845.2 MW.
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.
