Wind power
Man has harnessed the energy in wind for thousands of
years, both for sailing boats and powering wind mills
at land. Of all renewable energy sources, wind power is
the most mature in terms of commercial development.
The development costs have decreased dramatically in
recent years, however most projects are still dependent
on public subsidies in order to be profitable. This energy
source is interesting because of its renewability and
its availability. Potential for development is huge, and
the world’s capacity is far larger than the world’s total
energy consumption.
Wind power
Man has harnessed the energy in wind for thousands of years, both for sailing boats and powering wind mills at land. Of all renewable energy sources, wind power is the most mature in terms of commercial development. The development costs have decreased dramatically in recent years, however most projects are still dependent on public subsidies in order to be profitable.
How does wind power work?
A wind turbine consists of tower, blades, and a nacelle containing the generator, gear and control system. The wind puts the blades in motion in the same way that an airplane wing gives lift to a plane. Energy is transferred from the turbine via the drive shaft to the generator inside the nacelle. The generator transforms the kinetic energy to electric energy, which is in turn transferred to the grid via a transformer.
Resource base
About 1 percent of solar influx propels the global motion of air. For the world at large, this equals an amount of energy 100 times the current world energy consumption. Of this, only a small amount can be utilised for wind energy production.
Areas of application
The output of wind power varies with wind conditions. As a result, wind power can only comprise a part of an energy supply. This can partly be offset by establishing a system of wind parks at different locales. As a rule, there will always be wind at some of the sites. Calculations show that 10 percent of the total installed capacity will be in operation at all times, employing a system of varied wind park locations.
Market
The wind power industry has changed considerably in recent years. The direction of development is towards larger wind turbines and larger wind parks. The development of ever-larger wind turbines is likely to continue, and the biggest turbines and parks will be erected offshore.
Research and development
An important area of research and development for the next few years will be the development of large wind turbines suitable for harsh conditions both onshore and offshore (strong, turbulent wind and cold climate). Associated important areas are improved design and calculation tools, development of new techniques and tools for grid integration and improved wind forecasting techniques.
Norwegian wind power stakeholders
The wind power industry is in steady growth. On the international arena, the competition is fierce. In some countries there are wind power companies with more than 25 years of experience with developing and producing wind power plants and modules. Still, Norway has several fields of technology and know-how that can be employed on the world market.
References
References to the information about wind power.