Wind Turbine Power: A Brief History

In 1979, certain Danish producers of wind turbine power, including Bonus, Vestas, Kuriant, and Nordtank started to produce wind turbines. The turbines were supposed to generate electrical power by tapping and processing wind energy. That period marked the start of the development process of the modern wind power industry. Within an extremely short period of time (around 2 years), capacity ratings of these turbines shot up from the low beginning rating levels (between 20kW to 30 kW for every turbine).

The amount of wind power produced by the entire world currently stands at an impressive 73,904 MW. Such a high figure has been obtainable, since many other countries have started in their efforts to harness wind energy. China, Germany, India and the United States of America - all had high levels of installed capacity, by the end of the year 2007. The World Wind Energy Association puts the estimated availability of wind power from all over the world at 160 GW. Moreover, these figures relate mainly to the outputs obtained from wind power turbines only.

Germany used to be the leading producer of electric power from wind energy by using wind turbines in the initial years. However, this momentum wore off with time. At the other extreme, we have the Unites States, where experiments using wind as an alternative energy source were first held only on a small scale, in California. The later years saw increased harnessing of wind power in the US. The wind power capacity in America reached 16.8 GW by the year 2007, a rise of around 45 per cent from the figures in the initial years.

California had been soon overtaken by Texas, which became the largest wind turbine using state (for generating wind power) in the US. Soon enough, the states of Minnesota and Iowa would also produce 1 GW of wind power each. The American Department is supremely assured of the rapid progress of generation of wind power in the US. This is reflected by its prediction that the wind power plants located offshore, along with the units at Texas, North Dakota and Kansas would provide enough power to serve the requirements of the whole country.

In terms of generation of electricity from wind power, by using turbines, Denmark ranks fifth among all the countries. However, among European nations, it holds the top spot in this regard. Wind turbines are also produced on a very large scale in Denmark. The positive attitude of the Danish authorities is clear in their expectation that about half of the total supply of power would soon be provided by wind energy alone.

Nor is India lagging behind in these fields. It is the fourth highest producer of electricity from wind power resources. Harnessing wind energy, which was already popular in India, received a further lift in the encouraging signs that emerged from the recent World Wind Energy Conference that was hosted at New Delhi. Usage of wind power turbines made in Denmark (at Vestas and Micon and some other sites) is common in India. Near a small village in Tamil Nadu, these wind turbines have started to generate electricity. Many more plants are scheduled to be installed in south India, as a natural consequence.

In Mexico, the first efforts to become less dependent on fossil fuel plants for generating power was marked by the recently started La Venta II Wind Power Project. While this project has an introductory capacity target of only 88 MW, a power rating as high as 3500 MW is hoped to be achieved by the project, come the end of 2012. Most other countries are also trying to generate electricity by using wind turbines that can process wind power. This shows that almost all countries have woken up to the need of a clean, pollution free, renewable resource to produce electrical power.

Electricity production via the extensive usage of wind turbines are gaining in momentum in Brazil as well. Proinfa, an incentive scheme, has recently been launched by the Federal Government of this nation, and it aims to achieve an overall capacity of producing 3300 MW power from renewable energy. Out of this target figure, 1422 MW would be generated only from wind energy.

In the People’s Republic of China, Hebei has been chosen as the spot for the installation of a 1000 MW wind turbine power plant. Expected to be complete by the year 2020, the wind power available locally would help this plant generate wind electric power up to a maximum amount of 253,000 MW.

The rapid popularity of the wind turbines is certainly a stating point for having a clean, pollution-free environment. Wind power turbines are extremely eco-friendly in nature, and their increasing usage means, we would soon have a completely unpolluted, free and healthy air to inhale. The fossil fuel plants also suffered from many uncertainties that surrounded the issue of fuel availability of the latter. These problems do not afflict wind power plants. Hence, more and more countries are switching over to wind energy systems from conventional power plants.

It is simply impossible to turn a blind eye to the numerous advantages of wind turbine power plants. However, installing such a unit without a proper guidance can prove to be rather tricky. Hence you need to consult a manual to learn how to set up the unit, and which parts of the house would ensure best performance of the system. The network of wires, the relevant security techniques, the availability of comparatively cheaper components of the system (including free batteries) are all discussed in a training manual. All these information would render the installation of a wind power plant a much simpler process than before.

Jim Martin is a researcher, inventor, home energy consultant and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Earth 4 Electricity- Renewable Energy Made Easy". Jim has written dozens of home energy related articles and has been featured in ezines and print magazines, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.

To Learn More about Jim Martin´s Unique Step By Step Solar and Wind Power System Visit: Wind Generator Kit.