I think windmills are beautiful. They harness the wind's power to supply us with heat and light. They provide local jobs. They help clean air and reduce climate change.
Daniel Wetzel at WELT reports on a new nationwide anti-wind organization recently founded in Germany. The name of the new lobby group is “Vernunftkraft” (reason power). I am not linking to them, but...
Tehachapi’s Windmill-Wildflower Hike is one of the longest-running annual walks among wind turbines worldwide. More than 800 people, from children to octogenarians, have taken the six-mile walk...[more]
GE's enclosed-lattice, five-legged space frame prototype, sited at the company's Tehachapi, California facility, is 97 meters tall . . .
In China, wind power is leaving nuclear behind. Electricity output from China’s wind farms exceeded that from its nuclear plants for the first time in 2012, by a narrow margin. Then in 2013, wind...
Japan hasn’t seen an appreciable increase in wind power in the past few years despite the start of the feed-in tariff system designed to boost renewable energy, but it still has potential and the...
Creation Care merges faith with proactive solutions to protect God’s creation. Next week, the season of Lent begins for millions of faithful people around the world. To mirror the 40 days of Lent,...
In a new study, researchers from Imperial College Business School carried out a comprehensive nationwide analysis of the UK fleet of wind turbines, using local wind speed data from NASA. They showed...
In solidarity with BWE, I’ve endorsed their campaign by taking the small step of including one of their themes in the banner of my web site. I’ve posted one banner in the original German and one...[more]
The UBA study found 13.8% of land area suitable for wind energy; 49,000 km2, and that with contemporary wind turbines there is the astonishing 1,200,000 MW capable of generating 2,900 TWh/yr. This is...[more]
Of the wind turbines installed in 2012, only 28% were installed on green field sites in Niedersachsen and only 20% in Schleswig-Holstein. The rest were installed as replacements for existing turbines...[more]
German wind power organization Deutsche WindGuard has published its estimates for newly installed wind power capacity for the previous year, and the results are better than expected. 2013 turns out...
Never before has Energinet.dk incorporated so much wind power in the Danish power system as in 2013, and never before did the wind turbines generate what corresponds to more than 50 per cent of the...
Wind power was the main source of energy in Spain last year for the first time ever and also for the first time ever in any country, according to the industry association AEE.
Archivists at the York County Heritage Trust have uncovered a treasure trove of records from the 1.25 MW Smith-Putnam turbine of the early 1940s. The museum archives records of the S. Morgan Smith...[more]
If you’re going to join the public debate on our climate and energy future, should you have to disclose who you work for? Or should you be allowed to create a front group out of thin air to attack...
It's hard to believe, but the tempest over wind energy may be losing speed. . . But now, in at least some parts of the province, particularly around Lake Erie, the statistics appear to show people...
A new survey finds that the wind turbines in Freiburg, Germany, are once again very popular after a brief concern over the impact on bats. The strangest thing was the timing of the bat issue.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything to say about the American Wind Energy Association. To my surprise AWEA published a few photos from my collection in their recent calendar. One is of a...[more]
A new study reveals that more than three quarters of those surveyed in Switzerland support wind power, and roughly the same number say there is "no" or "only a minor" affect on people in surrounding...
The old canard of 14,000 abandoned wind turbines in California came up again recently in Australia of all places. A rabid anti-wind blogger—seems the Aussies have a good crop of them downunder—posted...[more]
I've added several new categories of cultural icons featuring wind turbines and updated some others. I've added categories for Book and Magazine Covers, Organic Chicken, Toys & Model Railroads, Pop...[more]
A dramatic fall in income, coupled with rising energy costs, is seeing increasing number of farmers turning to wind turbines as an additional source of revenue ahead of looming energy regulator...
The growth of wind power, if undertaken with reasonable care, should pose no risk to any particular bird species in Canada, according to a new peer-reviewed study. The study also suggests that highly...
We estimated impacts on birds from the development and operation of wind turbines in Canada considering both mortality due to collisions and loss of nesting habitat. We estimated collision mortality...
More than 80 percent of Icelanders support the construction of wind turbines for energy production, as indicated in a recent survey carried out by Capacent Gallup on behalf of Landsvirkjun, the...
Commercial availability of the new IEC3A wind turbine models, which have been specifically designed for high productivity in low and light wind conditions, opens new opportunities for onshore wind...
Ten Mile Lagoon wind farm on the south coast of West Australia was commissioned 20-years ago. The pioneering wind-diesel system at the remote community of Esperance cost AUS$5.8 million in 1993 to...[more]
Long awaited, low specific capacity-high specific area turbines are the kind of technology needed to make wind energy an essential low-cost component of moving society toward 100% renewable energy.[more]
The question about what to do with wind turbines after they’ve reached the end of their useful lives is often raised out of fear that derelict wind turbines will litter the landscape. As I’ve...[more]
Because of a flood of misinformation about what it costs to dismantle wind turbines, I’ve chosen to post a section from my 1995 book on the topic. Note that this was written nearly two decades ago.[more]
I am posting this data for its historical context and because the question of specific capacity has come to the fore as wind turbine manufacturers are now offering IEC Class IIIA turbines with very...[more]
In my 1995 book, Wind Energy Comes of Age, I discuss various measures of wind turbine productivity, including the misleading expression capacity factor. This discussion follows an explanation of how...[more]
The capacity or size of wind turbines and what that means relative to how much electricity they will generate often confuses journalists, renewable energy advocates, policymakers, and even...[more]
Addition of wind generation to a large power system does not require construction of back-up generating capacity.
In a significant victory for the UK wind sector over anti-wind propagandists, the UK Advertising Standards Authority have banned a leaflet stating that a 5.4MW wind farm planned for Wiltshire would...
“It is erroneous to interpret the reasons as establishing a precedent for the degree of proof required to establish a decrease in property values in these circumstances,” wrote Justice Healey in her...
No other province in Canada has a longer history with wind energy than Alberta, which has 20 years of experience with utility-scale wind farms. Yet, unlike some parts of the country, we don’t tend to...
A group of landowners who unsuccessfully sued a wind power developer and the farm corporation that leased it land have been ordered to pay legal costs of $107,370.78. . . the proposed eight-turbine...
I’ve been working with wind energy for more than three decades. In the early days I dreamed that there might be some adventurous souls in my home town of Alexandria, Indiana who might take a stab at...[more]
Renowned for its development of geothermal energy, Iceland has longed downplayed the potential of wind energy on the windy island nation in the middle of the North Atlantic. Until now....[more]
As fewer favourable high-wind speed sites are available, interest in effectively exploiting regions with lower wind speeds is growing worldwide. But in order to optimise results at these locations,...
13.8% of Germany is suitable for wind energy. This land area could hold 1,190,000 MW and could generate 2,900 TWh/yr. New turbines could reduce the land area required by 3/4 and still produce 2,400...
I've posted archival photos of one-bladed wind turbines in Germany and Italy under the section Large Wind Turbines.
It has been 10 years since the Nine Mile Beach wind farm was commissioned and 20 years since the Ten Mile Lagoon wind farm was commissioned. . .
Capacity factor is an indicator of how many hours a year a power generator runs. Today, guest author Bernard Chabot talks about how surprisingly high capacity factors are for wind turbines in areas...
Wine labels often celebrate the local landscape, the paysage in French. So it is fitting that vineyards add scenes depicting landscapes with wind turbines to their wine labels. . .
An ongoing area of enthusiasm and often fruitless investment is the area of high-altitude wind generation. Numerous companies have products which are hyped as replacing the iconic white tower with...
It seems as if every week, a new wind generator innovation is unveiled, sometimes in technology blogs, sometimes in TV segments, once even on TED Talks. They all claim to be better than the iconic,...
Wind has overtaken nuclear as an electricity source in China. In 2012, wind farms generated 2 percent more electricity than nuclear power plants did, a gap that will likely widen dramatically over...
Secretive funding network channelled millions to stop state governments moving towards renewable energy
Since the beginning of November, wind power has been the largest source of electricity within Spain – ahead of even nuclear and coal power – according to the Spanish wind power association's blog....
The government aims to triple the nation's supply capacity of electricity generated through wind power to 7.5 million kilowatts by developing transmission grids in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, it...
On Wednesday, the official figures for new wind turbine installations in Germany were published, and the sector grew by around 20 percent. German wind energy association BWE emphasizes how reliable...
Danish release statistics on the growth of renewables and the continuing decline in Carbon emissions. . .[more]
Our firm needs 100 volunteers to attend and participate in a rally in front of the British Consulate/Embassy in Midtown Manhattan on the East Side on Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 12 noon. The event...
The poll, conducted by ACORE in the days immediately following the US election, found that energy was an important part of an voter’s decision, on a par with foreign policy, and ahead of abortion....
This has left wind energy open to attack by those, for whatever reason, who don’t think wind turbines have a place in our electricity mix. Associated with those attacks is much misunderstanding about...
Opens Up New Possibility for Community Ownership Danish researchers have uncovered surprising results in a study of offshore wind energy. Contrary to expectations, research at the University of...[more]
Nearly Half of the Regions GDP is from Tourism Yet Nearly Two-Thirds of Schleswig-Holstein's Wind Capacity is also in the Region December 26, 2012 By Paul Gipe Attendees at the 2012 Husum wind...[more]
Nearly 2% of Land Area Set Aside for Wind Energy Not 100%, Not 200%, But 300% Renewable Energy by 2020 Says Government The German state of Schleswig-Holstein recently approved doubling the land...[more]
Henning Holst is one of Germany's pioneering community wind developers. Located in the center of the wind energy universe in Husum (the gray city by the sea) in northwestern Germany, he was there at...[more]
At the World Wind Energy Association conference in Bonn this past July there was a session on operations and maintenance and service providers. Carlo Reeker summarized the findings of annual survey...[more]
As part of the giant Husum wind conference held every two years, organizers this past fall launched an interactive map of wind projects in the region surrounding the "grey city by the sea". . . [more]
While traveling in Denmark this year I picked up a local newspaper (Dagbladet 13 September 2012, p 32) that had an article on the huge Anholt offshore project in the northern Kattegat--the straits...[more]
WNET: We want to ask you some questions about alternative energy. Gipe. Whoa. Stop right there. "Alternative energy?" Wind, solar, and biomass haven't been called "alternative energy" for three...[more]
Conclusive figures show that the sceptics who lobby against wind power simply have their facts wrong. . .
The following text accompanies the brief presentation by Paul Gipe at 2012 Husum WindEnergy exhibition and conference in Husum, Germany. [more]
Japanese mobile phone group and prime proponent of Feed-in Tariffs, Softbank, is planning to build wind farms with up to 1GW of capacity on Hokkaido island, as the company expands its investments in...
Report from thinktank IPPR says wind power is an efficient and reliable energy source, contrary to claims made against it. . .
Presentation on the costs of offshore wind energy relative to that onshore at the WWEC 3-5 July 2012 in Bonn. . .
Presentation at the WWEC 3-5 July 2012 Bonn. . .
Denmark and Germany provide evidence of a different kind: despite the presence of 30,000 wind turbines in these two countries, adverse health effects are not a significant issue in either country. . .
John Jackson, a local cattle rancher, owns 480 acres in the area and has wind turbines on his property. He's seen the wind farm change over the years and is a fan of the new turbines. . . "I like...
Yes, anti-wind hysteria has made me sick. I got queasy in my stomach when I think of the 150,000 wind turbines operating worldwide and still no epidemic of death and disease had yet broken out...[more]
says Paul Gipe an exclusive interview with Renewable Energy Magazine . . .
(Warning: Satire) Car Concerns Ontario (CCO) today called for a moratorium on sale of new cars, citing their danger to the health of citizens. . .
THERE is much stronger public support for wind farms than media coverage of the issue would suggest, because a ''vocal minority'' who oppose wind farms secure the majority of media and political...
A prominent anti-wind-power group is under fire amid accusations it broke election financing by running a negative advertising campaign against Liberal candidates last fall.
The study of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) technology at Sandia National Laboratories started in the 1970’s and concluded in the 1990’s. Initial studies at SNL investigated numerous VAWT...
Windflow Technology Newsletter Nº 31, June 2011 Some people use capacity factor as the basis for comparing wind farms and turbines. Capacity factor is the average kilowatts produced over a period,...[more]
Long-time renewable energy advocate Paul Gipe was selected by the Canadian Wind Energy Association for its Individual Leadership Award at its 2009 conference in Toronto September 22. The Canadian...[more]
This article explores the threats that wind farms pose to birds and bats before briefly surveying the recent literature on avian mortality and summarizing some of the problems with it. . .
There are a several sources of information for landowners on the typical terms and conditions for leasing land for wind energy development. The newest is by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association...[more]
I thought I'd comment on the technical feasibility of the plan, and the underlying economics of such an endeavour. . .
Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center installed a 225 kW Vestas V27 wind turbine in 2006 on the city's harbor front between the Cleveland Brown's football stadium and the science museum. The V27 is...[more]
Various estimates of the running costs of large wind turbines. . .[more]
The following worksheets were developed for the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association and the Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative in 2007 for the report Renewables without Limits: Moving Toward...[more]
For a review of Wind Energy Handbook by Tony Burton and for ordering information see Wind Energy Handbook. [more]
Generator Size and Swept Area Newcomers to wind energy and even some old-timers who should know better often equate the size of a wind turbine to it's generator rating. A Vestas V80 for example...[more]
The Resource Management Act, plans developed under it, and RMA processes are capable of facilitating wind energy development and of dealing with the range of effects associated with a wind farm....
A much anticipated update on wind turbines and birds in California's Altamont Pass concludes that the problem is more severe than once believed. The report by biologists Carl Thelander and Sean...[more]
An edited version of this article appeared in the Summer 2003 (Vol. 16, No. 3) edition of WindStats. With 270 people--including New Zealand's minister for energy-- attending the dedication of...[more]
A description of the Profitability Index Method of setting feed-in tariff rates for wind energy. . .
Today Paul Gipe submitted his candidates biography to the American Wind Energy Association for re-election to AWEA's board of directors. In his biography Gipe calls for a dramatic change in AWEA's...[more]
Kenetech Windpower (U.S. Windpower), one of the world's largest wind companies, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 1996. Below is a list of references to U.S. Windpower (Kenetech Windpower) in...[more]
These comments were posted to awea-windnet and subsequently noise from the AWT 26 was abated. Eventually the turbines were removed when the manufacturer ceased operation. The installation of a...[more]
Comments by the American Wind Energy Association on Repowering California's Wind Industry for the California Energy Commission's 1994 Biennial Report[more]
Off-the-shelf parts and simple assembly produce 250 kW at low cost.
