Wind Power::A Growing Renewable Energy Resource

History:Wind power has been harnessed by mankind for thousands of years. Wind filled the sails of explorers and fueled trade throughout the world. The Dutch used wind to claim land from the ocean, and early European settlers in the American West used wind to pump water for farms. During the first half of the 20th century wind was used to provide electricity for many rural areas before the expansion of the electrical grid offered a cheaper and more reliable form of power.
Today:Following the energy crunches of the ‘70s, a renewed interest in wind began to develop. Spurred on by government incentives (now largely extinct), wind farms began to sprout. California leads the world for installed capacity - 44%. During 1994 California produced 3.2 billion kWh from wind power.
this energy costs $0.075/kWh, though in some areas, due to greater wind power, the price is $0.05/kWh.
By rejecting nuclear power, Denmark has made the greatest commitment to wind power of any nation. Second only to California, Denmark has 540 MW of installed capacity and produced 1.1 billion kWh during 1994. Six of the top ten wind turbine manufactureres (including #1) are Danish companies.
A wide range of generating capacities allow wind turbines to fill a wide range of applications and sites. Individual producers, generating electricity for their own home needs may use a turbine as small as 10kW (this would power one hundred 100 Watt light bulbs at peak power). Larger utility based wind farms may use turbines from 50kW all the way up to 2 MW (1 MW = 1000 kW). The typical sizes for modern utility applications are between 200 and 300 kW.
Wind power can be tapped in a variety of places.
Intermittency:One particular problem with wind energy is the intermittent nature of the resource. The wind does not always blow. This is perhaps the leading criticism of wind power today. For the home generator, batteries can be used to store the power, however this increases costs and reduces the environmental benefits. A solution is to use the electric grid as a “storage” mechanism. During times when the turbine is producing excess capacity, the electric company purchases your power. During times when you need more power than you can produce, you can “buy back” the power you sold.
As for the large utilities, wind power is not a large enough energy source at the current time for intermittency to be a problem. Given that the electric grid connects large areas of land together (1/2 a continent), it may be found that the lack of wind in one area at a particular time may be made up by wind from another area and vice versa. In other words, an overall balance in the system may be maintained.
Another way of dealing with the intermittent nature of wind power (and other renewable technologies) is to use the exectricity for electrolysis. Running a current through water results in the seperation of the hydrogen and oxygen. Using the hydrogen for fuel recombines the hydrogen and oxygen, forming water.