Wind Energy

Wind Energy

For centuries humans have been harvesting energy from the wind. As early as 900 hundred year ago wind was harnessed by the Europeans for the purpose for grinding grains and manufacturing products. Wind powered ships helped discovering new territories and opened new avenues for international trade. Over the years farms land relied on wind powered for irrigation, livestock and domestic use. In 13^th century the horizontal axis wind mills ware an integral part of the rural economy but became ineffective with the advent of cheap fossil fueled engines and rural electrification. In late 19^th century a 12KW wind mill (turbine) was constructed in the US. Most of the 20^th century the purpose of wind turbines were confined to recharge batteries in the remote dwellings with an exception of 1250 KW wind turbine constructed in the US in 1941 though it was not a success but it remained the largest wind turbine over the next 40 years of its construction. During this period the development of wind turbine remained inefficient. In early 70s the wind turbines began its epic journey from Kilowatts to Megawatts. The stimulus was then rise in the oil price and the limitation of the fossil fuel resource and now with the global awareness of environmental benefits by generating electricity using wind energy with very low C0₂ emissions. Wind energy has identified itself as a key player in renewable energy market. From 2.5 GW installed capacity in 1995 to 40 GW in 2010.

Installed wind capacity throughout the world as of 2001

   

World Wind Energy Resources

Wind Energy is on the go and in near future clearly seems to be the major source of Electricity as it is widely available and abundant in many parts of the world. According to the World Watch Institute, locations with high wind speed around the world could theoretically yield 13 times more electricity that is being currently produced worldwide.

As of now the Global wind energy potential is considerably higher than previous estimates by both wind industry groups and government agencies, according to study publish recently. The study shows that the potential of wind power is 40 times more than the current consumption of the electricity worldwide. In the lower 48 states the potential of wind power is more than 16 percent of total electricity Demand of USA According to an Electricity industry analyst USA is the “Saudi Arabia of Wind” While remote areas of Russia and Canada have the greatest theoretical potential, the Harvard study pointed out that there are real gains to be made in high-emission nations, especially China, which have been rapidly constructing coal plants. “Large-scale development of wind power in China could allow for an 18-fold increase in electricity supply relative to consumption reported for 2005,” the Harvard study said.

Country like Pakistan that has been suffering from one the worst electricity crisis. The demand of the electricity largely remains unresolved. The Expected generation of electricity of 2010 is about 18,500 MW where as the demand would be 19,350 MW. Out of this electricity supply more than 65 % comes from burning fossil fuels. According to NREL assessment the wind electric potential in Pakistan is 131,800 MW and the installed capacity is about 5MW per Kilometer Square.

The wind energy has continued its success story in bigger energy markets and has been the most dynamic resource of energy in last couple of years. According to the world wind energy report 2009 the installed capacity has reached 159,213 MW out of which 38,312 was added in 2009. Wind power sector showed a growth rate of 38% and its turn over was over 50 billion Euros and the total installed capacity is expected to cross 200,000 MW by the end of 2010. The wind sector has also opened a new avenue of job market since 2001. By 2010 the employee numbers are expected to be 670,000 and with such a dynamic growth the numbers are expected to reach over a 1.0 million.