The
use of wind for simple machines such as wind mills is well known. Its use for
electricity generation is still not so well adapted. Although there has been
increase in percentage power generation using wind turbines, more development in
this technology needs to be promoted. One of the main draw backs is that it can
be noisy and as such not easy to have suburban installations. In large farms
where there is abundance of high speed winds throughout the year, substantial
percentage power supply can be achieved using wind turbines. Old style wind
turbines were housed in sturdy not so high installations. However the current
trend is for a series of very high installations. The wind speed being more at
greater heights. Wind is a attractive form of renewable energy that can be used,
especially in windy countries. The machine and engineering required is quite
simple and not very costly. There is also increasing investor participation and
interest in wind technology.
Wind turbines are increasingly used in large farms for their energy
requirements. Especially with increase in investor interest in this technology.
Countries like Australia and New Zealand have been very successful in developing
this technology. Their climatic condition is especially useful because of the
high winds they have all the year round. With the improvement and innovations in
novel composite materials it has been possible to improve on material fatigue
and the development of light weight robust materials, has made it possible to
develop wind mills with wing span as large as a football field. Siemens is a
world leader in renewable energy innovations. The maximum power generation that
was possible in the first Siemens wind turbines that were built in the early
80's was only 22 kilowatts. Now
there are Siemens wind turbines that produce as much as 3.6 megawatts.
This year
Siemens will be building wind turbines with a total
output of 1,500 megawatts. That’s enough to
produce four billion kilowatt-hours a year —
around 12 percent of Denmark’s electricity requirements.
About 6,300 Siemens wind power units with a total output of 5,500 MW are
currently in operation worldwide. State-owned Meridian Energy Ltd., New Zealand’s
largest electricity producer, has ordered 62 Siemens turbines for its West Wind
project, located 15 kilometers west of the state capital Wellington. The
official groundbreaking of New Zealand’s largest wind farm, with a total
capacity exceeding 140 megawatts (MW), took place on September 27 and was
attended Prime Minister Helen Clark.
The
use of wind for simple machines such as wind mills is well known. Its use for
electricity generation is still not so well adapted. Although there has been
increase in percentage power generation using wind turbines, more development in
this technology needs to be promoted. One of the main draw backs is that it can
be noisy and as such not easy to have suburban installations. In large farms
where there is abundance of high speed winds throughout the year, substantial
percentage power supply can be achieved using wind turbines. Old style wind
turbines were housed in sturdy not so high installations. However the current
trend is for a series of very high installations. The wind speed being more at
greater heights. Wind is a attractive form of renewable energy that can be used,
especially in windy countries. The machine and engineering required is quite
simple and not very costly. There is also increasing investor participation and
interest in wind technology. 
