Portal:Wind power
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The Wind Power Portal
The Gansu Wind Farm in Gansu, China
Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity generation. Today, wind power is generated almost completely with wind turbines, generally grouped into wind farms and connected to the electrical grid.
In 2022, wind supplied over 2,304 TWh of electricity, which was 7.8% of world electricity. With about 100 GW added during 2021, mostly in China and the United States, global installed wind power capacity exceeded 800 GW. 32 countries generated more than a tenth of their electricity from wind power in 2023 and wind generation has nearly tripled since 2015. To help meet the Paris Agreement goals to limit climate change, analysts say it should expand much faster – by over 1% of electricity generation per year. (Full article...)
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Wind power has been used as long as humans have put sails into the wind. Wind-powered machines used to grind grain and pump water — the windmill and wind pump — were developed in what is now Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan by the 9th century. Wind power was widely available and not confined to the banks of fast-flowing streams, or later, requiring sources of fuel. Wind-powered pumps drained the polders of the Netherlands, and in arid regions such as the American midwest or the Australian outback, wind pumps provided water for livestock and steam engines.
With the development of electric power, wind power found new applications in lighting buildings remote from centrally generated power. Throughout the 20th century, parallel paths developed small wind plants suitable for farms or residences and larger utility-scale wind generators that could be connected to electricity grids for remote use of power. Wind-powered generators operate in sizes ranging between tiny plants for battery charging at isolated residences up to near-gigawatt sized offshore wind farms that provide electricity to national electrical networks. (Full article...)
General windmill articles
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Eskom Nation Grid Production By Source in April 2023
South Africa produced around 245,000 GWh of electricity in 2021. Most of this electricity is produced using coal and is consumed domestically. In 2022, 12,300 GWh were exported to Eswatini, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and other countries participating in the Southern African Power Pool. In 2022, South Africa imported 10,800 GWh from the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Power Station in Mozambique via the 1,920 MW Cahora Bassa (HDVC) Power Transmission System.
Most power stations in South Africa are owned and operated by the state owned enterprise, Eskom. These plants account for 80% of all the electricity produced in South Africa and 45% of all electricity produced on the African continent. In terms of share of GDP in 2012, South Africa was the 4th largest investor in renewable power in the world after Uruguay, Mauritius and Costa Rica. (Full article...) -
Maan Wind Farm 80 MW
As of 2021, there are at least eight operational wind power plants at Ibrahimyah, Hofa, Maan Hussania & Tafila. The Ibrahimyah plant, located approximately 80 km north of Amman, consists of 4 wind turbines with capacity 0.08 MW for each. The Hofa plant, located approximately 92 km north of Amman, consists of 5 wind turbines with capacity 0.225 MW for each. The Tafila Wind Farm is located in Tafilah Governorate in southwest Jordan. In Maan there are two Wind Farms. Maan Wind Farm was inaugurated in 2016 in south Jordan with a capacity of 80 MW, and Rajef Wind Farm reached the commercial Operation Date by October 2018, with a capacity of 86 MW. The 89MW Fujeij wind farm developmed and owend by KEPCO reached commercial operation date in October 2019. The Abour Energy wind farm developed by AMEA and Xenel industries reached commercial operation date (COD) in July 2021. The Daehan Wind Farm, developed by a joint venture of DL Energy and KOSPO also reached COD in July 2021. (Full article...) -
This is a list of offshore wind farms in Japan. Japan intends to announce winners of a second contract round for 1.8 GW of capacity in March 2024. (Full article...)
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Elphin Windmill is a fully restored 18th-century tower mill in Elphin, County Roscommon, viewed as a rare piece of Irish industrial architectural heritage, and possibly the oldest operational windmill in Ireland. (Full article...) -
The Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm
As of 2013, there was an installed capacity of 2,599 megawatts (MW) of wind power in Romania, up from the 7 MW installed capacity in 2007. Until December 2010, Romania added around 440 MW to its installed wind capacity from two wind farms: Fântânele-Cogealac and the EDP Peștera. The Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm has been completed in 2012 and at the time was the largest in Europe.
Romania has a wind-power potential of around 14,000 MW, and an energy-generating capacity of 23 terawatt-hours. The country's wind power capacity that can be assimilated by the national transport grid is between 3,000 MW and 9,000 MW, while only in the last two years the total power of the requests for connecting to it was about 22.800 MW. The Dobrogea region, which consists of Constanța and Tulcea counties, has the second-highest wind potential in Europe. (Full article...) -
Boyd's Windmill, also known as Boyd's Wind Grist Mill, is a historic smock mill at Paradise Valley Park on Prospect Avenue in Middletown, Rhode Island. John Peterson built the windmill at the corner of Mill Lane and West Main Rd. in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1810, and William Boyd purchased it in 1815. It originally had four common sails, but four more were added by the family. The mill is a timber-frame structure, octagonal in shape, and about 30 feet (9.1 m) tall, with a rotating cap powered by eight vanes with canvas sheets. The grindstones in the middle of the mill are Fall River granite; the upper one, which is connected to the power mechanisms, rotates six times for each turn of the mill's main shaft. In 1916 Benjamin Boyd removed the original vanes and powered the mill using a gasoline engine. It is one of only two historic windmills (out of what was estimated to be more than thirty) to survive on Aquidneck Island.
Boyd's Mill features prominently on the town seal of Middletown. (Full article...) -
This is a list of operational, offshore wind farms in Denmark (within the national maritime boundaries). Denmark's wind power generation is the highest in the world as a fraction of domestic consumption, reaching 47% in 2019.
Data is primarily from the 4C Offshore's Global Offshore Wind Farm Map and Database. Tariff data is supplied by the Danish Energy Agency. The name of the Wind Farm is the name used by the Energy Company when referring to the Farm and is usually related to a shoal or the name of the nearest town on shore. The Wind Farm part is implied and hence omitted for ease of reading. (Full article...) -
China has the world's largest capacity of offshore wind power, with 25 GW operational as of mid 2022.
Offshore wind in China is growing rapidly, with 16.9 GW added during 2021. (Full article...) -
Mostert's Mill (Afrikaans: Mostert se Meul) is a historic windmill in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa. It was built in 1796 and is the oldest surviving complete windmill in South Africa. It was almost completely destroyed by a wildfire on 18 April 2021 but was fully restored by April 2024 and is once more operational and used to grind wheat into whole meal, using the power of the wind. The oldest windmill in South Africa is the De Nieuwe Molen mill in Cape Town, built in 1782. (Full article...) -
Aarsdale Windmill, Bornholm
Aarsdale Windmill (Danish: Aarsdale Mølle) is a smock windmill located on a hilltop on the southern fringe of Aarsdale, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Svaneke on the Danish island of Bornholm. Constructed in 1877, it is still in operational condition although it is no longer in regular use. (Full article...) -
The following page lists some power stations in mainland China divided by energy source and location. (Full article...)
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The installed electrical capacity and production of Sri Lanka by sources, from 2000 to 2018
Sri Lanka's electricity demand is currently met by nine thermal power stations, fifteen large hydroelectric power stations, and fifteen wind farms, with a smaller share from small hydro facilities and other renewables such as solar. Most hydroelectric and thermal/fossil fuel–based power stations in the country are owned and/or operated by the government via the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), while the renewable energy sector consists mostly of privately run plants operating on a power purchase agreement with the CEB.
Per CEB's 2016 generation report released in mid-2017, the country has a total combined installed generation capacity of 4,017 megawatts (MW), of which 2,115 MW (52.65%) was from thermal (900 MW/22.40% from coal and 1,215 MW/30.25% from fuel oil), 1,726 MW (42.97%) from hydroelectricity, and the remaining 176 MW (4.38%) from other renewable sources such as wind, biomass, and solar. These generation sources produced a total of 14,149 GWh of electricity during that year, of which 9,508 GWh (67.20%), 4,220 GWh (29.83%), and 421 GWh (2.98%) was from thermal, hydro, and other renewables, respectively. (Full article...) -
The Old Windmill is a heritage-listed tower mill in Observatory Park adjacent to Wickham Park at 226 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built in the 1820s by convict labour in the Moreton Bay penal settlement and is the oldest surviving building in Queensland. It is also known as Brisbane Observatory and Windmill Tower. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. Today it is the centrepiece of Observatory Park and a lookout over parts of the Brisbane CBD. (Full article...) -
Worldwide installed capacity (1996–2015)
This is a list of the largest onshore wind farms that are currently operational, rated by generating capacity. Also listed are onshore wind farms with notability other than size, and largest proposed projects. (Full article...) -
Haigh Windmill
A tower mill is a type of vertical windmill consisting of a brick or stone tower, on which sits a wooden 'cap' or roof, which can rotate to bring the sails into the wind.
This rotating cap on a firm masonry base gave tower mills great advantages over earlier post mills, as they could stand much higher, bear larger sails, and thus afford greater reach into the wind. Windmills in general had been known to civilization for centuries, but the tower mill represented an improvement on traditional western-style windmills. The tower mill was an important source of power for Europe for nearly 600 years from 1300 to 1900, contributing to 25 percent of the industrial power of all wind machines before the advent of the steam engine and coal power. (Full article...) -
This is a list of wind farms in Australia, with a generating capacity of more than 50 MW, which are operating, under construction, or for which planning approval has been received. (Full article...)
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Danish Smock mill from 1895 at Sønderho, Fanø, with fantail
A fantail is a small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, and which turns the cap automatically to bring it into the wind. The fantail was patented in 1745 by Edmund Lee, a blacksmith working at Brockmill Forge near Wigan, England, and was perfected on mills around Leeds and Hull towards the end of the 18th century. Fantails are found on all types of traditional windmills and are especially useful where changes in wind direction are frequent. They are more common in England, Denmark and Germany than in other parts of Europe, and are little-known on windmills elsewhere except where English millwrighting traditions were in evidence.
The rotating fantail turns the cap of the windmill via a system of gearing to a toothed rack around the top of the mill tower, or to wheels running on the ground in the case of a post mill. It does so until the fantail sails are oriented parallel to the wind, whereby the wind can no longer move them. When the fantail is oriented parallel to the wind, the main sails are in the optimal perpendicular orientation and produce maximum power. (Full article...) -
North Steads Wind Farm from Druridge Bay
This is a list of some onshore wind farms (more than one turbine) in the UK. This information is gathered from multiple Internet sources, primarily the UK Wind Energy Database from RenewableUK (formerly BWEA) and The Wind Power's database. There are many operational wind farms missing from the list, such as Scotland's 522 MW Clyde Wind Farm and the 68 MW Keadby Wind Farm in North Lincolnshire, England's largest onshore wind farm. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm and is usually related to the name of the physical location, e.g. hill, moor, fell, down etc. or the name of the agricultural farm for the smaller installations on property owned by farmers. The "wind farm" part is implied and hence removed for clarity in most cases. Listings here are restricted to wind farms with 12 turbines or more; for a more comprehensive list, please see the individual country articles. (Full article...) -
This is a list of operational, offshore wind farms in Denmark (within the national maritime boundaries). Denmark's wind power generation is the highest in the world as a fraction of domestic consumption, reaching 47% in 2019.
Data is primarily from the 4C Offshore's Global Offshore Wind Farm Map and Database. Tariff data is supplied by the Danish Energy Agency. The name of the Wind Farm is the name used by the Energy Company when referring to the Farm and is usually related to a shoal or the name of the nearest town on shore. The Wind Farm part is implied and hence omitted for ease of reading. (Full article...) -
As of 2016, there were over 160 operational wind farms in Lithuania, but the majority of them consisted of small farms generating less than 2 MW. (Full article...)
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Moulin de Craca is a windmill in Plouézec, Côtes-d'Armor, France. First working in 1844 it was restored from 1995. It is popular amongst both locals and tourists because of its location on top of a cliff overlooking Port Lazo.
Every August the Plouézec-Ballinamore twinning committee organises Noz Ar Vilin Fest Noz around the windmill. There is a selection of Breton and Irish music and dancing, as well as local cuisine and drinks. Amongst the specialities are Moules-Frites (Mussels and chips), Crêpes, Galettes, Breton cider, and Chouchen. (Full article...) -
The Bourne Windmill, Oakdale, New York was an American farm design tower windmill, built in 1911 by Commodore Frederic G Bourne, as part of a farm in Oakdale, New York. It was located north of his South Shore estate, known as Indian Neck Hall, which later became LaSalle Military Academy. The windmill was demolished in 2004–2005. (Full article...) -
Jay's Mill, Button's Mill or Victoria Road Mill is a tower mill at Diss, Norfolk, England which has been truncated and converted to residential accommodation. (Full article...) -
The Wendhausen Windmill (German: Windmühle Wendhausen) is a tower mill located in Wendhausen, a town within the municipality of Lehre, Lower Saxony, Germany. Built in 1837, it is the only five-sailed windmill in Germany still in operation. (Full article...)
Topics
Wind power topics
Windmill topics
A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, by tradition specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but in some parts of the English-speaking world, the term has also been extended to encompass windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications. The term wind engine is also sometimes used to describe such devices. (Full article...)
Examples of multi-sailed windmills
Examples of tower mills
- Aarsdale Windmill
- Blennerville Windmill
- Bourne Windmill, Oakdale, New York
- Elphin Windmill
- Greenhill Windmill
- Gudhjem Windmill
- Montefiore Windmill
- Morgan Lewis Windmill
- Mostert's Mill
- Moulin de Craca
- Myreagre Mølle
- Old Mill, Perth
- Pedersker Kirkemølle
- Scherpenberg mill
- Ta' Kola Windmill
- The Old Windmill, Brisbane
- Vinegar Hill Windmill
- Xarolla Windmill
General images
The following are images from various wind power-related articles on Wikipedia.
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The Hancock County wind energy center in Iowa (from Wind turbines on public display) -
A small Quietrevolution QR5 Gorlov type vertical axis wind turbine in Bristol, England. Measuring 3 m in diameter and 5 m high, it has a nameplate rating of 6.5 kW to the grid. (from Wind turbine) -
Map of available wind power over the United States. Colour codes indicate wind power density class. (from Wind farm) -
Technical drawing of a 1793 Dutch smock mill for land drainage (from Windmill) -
The Persian horizontal windmill, the first practical windmill. (from Windmill) -
Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, Oregon, United States with a turbine under construction (from Wind farm) -
Egbert Livensz van der Poel, Windmill Fire (17th century), National Museum in Kraków (from Windmill) -
The rotor of a gearless wind turbine being set. This particular turbine was prefabricated in Germany, before being shipped to the U.S. for assembly. (from Wind turbine) -
Development in size and power of wind turbines, 1990–2016 (from Wind turbine) -
Offshore Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) at Scroby Sands Wind Farm, England (from Wind turbine) -
A vertical axis Twisted Savonius type turbine. (from Wind turbine) -
The windmills at Kinderdijk in the village of Kinderdijk, Netherlands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Windmill) -
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Thorntonbank Wind Farm, using 5 MW turbines REpower 5M in the North Sea off the coast of Belgium (from Wind turbine) -
1813 technical drawing (from Windmill) -
Wind turbines in the Bahrain World Trade Center (from Wind turbine) -
Nacelle of a wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
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The Gansu Wind Farm in China is the largest wind farm in the world, with a target capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020. (from Wind farm) -
Windpump in far western New South Wales, Australia (from Windmill) -
The Nordex N50 wind turbine and visitor centre of Lamma Winds in Hong Kong, China (from Wind turbine) -
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Components of a horizontal-axis wind turbine (from Wind turbine) -
Inside view of a wind turbine tower, showing the tendon cables (from Wind turbine) -
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Components of a horizontal axis wind turbine (gearbox, rotor shaft and brake assembly) being lifted into position (from Wind turbine) -
The first automatically operated wind turbine, built in Cleveland in 1887 by Charles F. Brush. It was 60 feet (18 m) tall, weighed 4 tons (3.6 metric tonnes) and powered a 12 kW generator. (from Wind turbine) -
An aerial view of Whitelee Wind Farm, the largest onshore wind farm in the UK and second-largest in Europe (from Wind farm) -
Kiosk at the base of the Lamma Winds Nordex N50/800kW wind turbine on Lamma Island with displays showing current power output and cumulative energy produced. (from Wind turbines on public display) -
James Blyth's electricity-generating wind turbine, photographed in 1891 (from Wind turbine) -
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Jhimpir Wind Farm, Pakistan (from Wind farm) -
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South Brooklyn Marine Terminal Wind Turbine (from Wind turbines on public display) -
Nashtifan wind turbines in Sistan, Iran (from Wind turbine) -
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Cross section of a post mill (from Windmill) -
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Wind farm interference (in yellow circle) on radar map (from Wind farm) -
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Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen, Denmark. (from Wind farm) -
Oilmill De Zoeker, paintmill De Kat and paltrok sawmill De Gekroonde Poelenburg at the Zaanse Schans (from Windmill) -
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An isometric drawing of the machinery of the Beebe Windmill (from Windmill) -
Gouda Wind Facility, South Africa (from Wind farm) -
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The Pubnico Wind Farm taken from Beach Point, Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia (from Wind farm) -
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De Valk windmill in mourning position following the death of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in 1962 (from Windmill) -
The three primary types: VAWT Savonius, HAWT towered; VAWT Darrieus as they appear in operation (from Wind turbine) -
San Gorgonio Pass wind farm, California (from Wind farm) -
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Illustration of the wind turbine for power generation erected by Josef Friedlaender at the International Electrical Exhibition in Vienna in 1883 (from Wind turbine) -
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Northern Iowa wind farm (from Wind farm) -
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U.S. President Trump's opposition to wind power involves repeated claims that "windmills" "kill the birds", but cats in the U.S. actually kill on the order of 10,000 times as many birds as wind turbines. (from Wind turbine) -
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Hooper's Mill, Margate, Kent, an eighteenth-century European horizontal windmill (from Windmill) -
Roscoe Wind Farm, an onshore wind farm, in West Texas (from Wind farm) -
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Workers inspect wind turbine blades. (from Wind turbine) -
Interior view, Pantigo windmill, East Hampton, New York Historic American Buildings Survey (from Windmill)
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Subcategories
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List articles
- List of onshore wind farms
- Lists of wind farms by country
- List of wind farms in Australia
- List of wind farms in Canada
- List of wind farms in China
- List of wind farms in Denmark
- List of wind farms in India
- List of wind farms in Iran
- List of wind farms in the Republic of Ireland
- List of wind farms in Japan
- List of wind farms in Jordan
- List of wind farms in Kosovo
- List of wind farms in Latvia
- List of wind farms in Lithuania
- List of wind farms in Morocco
- List of wind farms in the Philippines
- List of wind farms in Romania
- List of wind farms in South Africa
- List of wind farms in Sri Lanka
- List of wind farms in Sweden
- List of wind farms in Turkey
- List of wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of wind farms in the United States
- List of wind farms in Uruguay
- List of offshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms in China
- List of offshore wind farms in Denmark
- List of offshore wind farms in Germany
- List of offshore wind farms in Japan
- List of offshore wind farms in the Netherlands
- List of offshore wind farms in Sweden
- List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of offshore wind farms in the United States
Did you know...
- ... that wind power in Turkey is so profitable that companies pay the government for licences?
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